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YOUNG MAN'S GIFT 



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boston : 

PUBLISHED BY J. BUFFUM, 
1851. 



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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, 

BY J. BUFFUM, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



Printed by a C. P. MOODY, 

52 Washington St. , Boston. 



PREFACE. 

Young Men ! — the hope and flower of 
every nation ! What reflecting mind is 
not filled with the deepest interest in every 
movement calculated to affect their charac- 
ter. Rightly trained, and imbued with a 
just sense of their vast responsibilities and 
capabilities what may we not hope from them. 
It is to them we must look for the perpetuity 
of our cherished institutions. The interests 
of Literature, of Science, and of Religion, 
the peculiar glory of New England, can 
only be carried forward and sustained by 
the virtuous Young Men of our country. 
Let the time be far distant, when some as- 
piring demagogue, as in ancient Rome, will 



IV PREFACE. 



seek to overthrow our liberties, by corrupt- 
ing the moral sense of our young men. 
Nay, let every young man himself reflect 
that the period now passing over him is 
of immense, of inconceivable importance. 
In entering upon the busy scenes of life, 
let him do it with a high and manly purpose 
— remembering that every step he takes is 
decisive ; every action he performs is criti- 
cal ; every idea he forms is likely to become 
a principle, influencing his future destiny. 
They who are just launched upon the broad 
ocean of life, with the gale of hope swelling 
their sails, should look well to their pilot, 
their chart, and to the great way-marks of 
a prosperous voyage ; lest their beautiful 
bark be shattered and wrecked by the 
storms and tempests of human passions. 
Be upright, be honorable, be truthful, cul- 
tivate the heart and the intellect and an 



PREFACE. 



approving consience shall ever be your 
reward. 

It is hoped that in this little volume some 
additional incentives to higher attainments 
in science, in literature, in sound practical 
knowledge, and in pure morality, may be 
gathered by every young man who reads 
its pages. The Tale, commencing on the 
107th page, was written by a young man 
engaged in the active, laborious pursuits of 
life, and is a good illustration of what may 
be done by the cultivation of the intellect 
under difficulties, c e p s 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Durability of the Bible, 9 

Physical View of the United States, . .R.S. Storrs, . . 11 

Elihu Burritt, 14 

The Party Man, 17 

Early Marriages, Nat. Int. . . 20 

Idleness, Anon,. .22 

Home, Anon, . . 24 

A Good Son, 26 

Dogmatism, 28 

Albert Gallatin, 2 8 

William Wirt to his Daughter, 34 

Beauty in Nature, 36 

Keep your Temper, Am. Messenger,, .37 

The Smithsonian Institution, 39 

Live for Something, Anon, . . 40 

Redeeming Time, Anon,. .41 

Family Government J. A. James,. .42 

Be Wide Awake, Am. Traveller, . . 43 

Married Life, Anon, . .45 

An Every Day Occurrence,.. Bridgewater Treatise.. .50 

Eli Whitney, 52 

Mr. Calhoun's Euneral, Cor. Trav. . . 55 

Chapter of Young Men, • • • 59 

Gentleness, -. 69 

Phenomena of Sound, 70 



CONTENTS. 



Pride, . 72 

Dress, 73 

Lindley Murray, 74 

Illustrious Mechanics, 83 

Claims of Science on Young Men, 88 

The Morning, 96 

Love of God, 97 

Character^ 98 

Sunrise, 99 

Mental Cultivation, 100 

Man Improvable, 101 

The Hypocrite, 101 

Our Lost Time, 102 

Religious Gems, 102 

Wives of Intellect and Fancy, . . G. F. Bannister ', . . 107 

Punctuality, Merch. Ledger^. .156 

A Cheerful Wife, A 158 

Co-operation of the Wife, 158 

A Brother's Love, 159 

For Husbands, 162 

Advice to Young Men, D. Sanford, . . 1 63 

How to Prosper in Business,. . . . • 173 

Evil Consequences of Smoking, 177 

Youth and Marriage, 1 79 

The Young Man's Curse, 180 

Necessity of Self- Acquaintance, . . . Q. W. Light,. .182 
How to make a Man, H. Greely, . . 191 



THE YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 



DURABILITY OF THE BIBLE. 

Let not any thing, however plausible, 
be substituted for the Bible ; let nothing 
supersede it. The history of an ancient 
Church teaches a lesson never to be forgot- 
ten. The Jews had a written word, found- 
ed on stupendous miracles ; but they turned 
aside from the fountain of living waters, 
and had recourse to the broken cisterns of 
human tradition. The result of it was, that 
when Barabbas came, they said, Let him go 
free : when the Lord of Glory came to his 
own, they cried, Away w T ith him ; crucify 
him. And the final issue of this preference 
of tradition to the word of God was, that 
the Romans quickly gathered around the 



12 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

large as Massachusetts ; and, including the 
territories ceded by Mexico, the number of 
such States rises to four hundred and forty- 
eight. Three millions two hundred and 
fifty thousand square miles form a broader 
field than twenty-six kingdoms like Great 
Britain would cover, and is exceeded only 
in five hundred thousand quare miles by all 
Europe — embracing three empires, six- 
teen kingdoms, and more than forty other 
independent States. And it has been said, 
less accurately, perhaps, than elegantly, 
that " plains here open to our view as 
boundless as the ocean ; mountains that 
look down upon the clouds ; slopes that 
cover thousands of miles in extent, and 
rivers co-extensive. Nature paints on her 
largest scale ; all her figures are colossal ; 
all her features bold and strongly marked." 
If perchance, loftier mountains, broader 
streams, or more extensive plains be found 
elsewhere, there are yet none richer in 
their productions, more accommodating to 
the demands of commercial enterprise, nor 



VIEW OF THE UNITED STATES. 13 

more abundant in their returns to the hand 
of industry. Its mineral, vegetable, and 
animal resources, are proved exhaustless, 
by the developments of advancing years. 
Its ten thousand miles of continuous coal 
field, its iron mountains, and newly discov- 
ered mines of lead and copper, of silver 
and gold ; its numberless lakes and rivers ; 
its verdant hill tops, fruitful valleys, and 
beautiful prairies rolling like the sea, baffle 
description, while they indicate the purpose 
of high heaven to make it forever the glory 
of all lands. That ancient land whose 
" brooks of water, fountains and depths 
springing out of valleys and hills," are cel- 
ebrated in inspired song — "a land of 
wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, 
and pomegranates ; a land of oil, olive, and 
honey — whose stones were iron, and out 
of whose hills brass was dug," — was rich 
indeed, salubrious, and blessed of Heaven ; 
but our own country is richer still, as 
healtful too, sharing more largely in all that 
ministers to human welfare. 



14 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 



ELIHU BUKEITT. 

Elihu Burritt was born in New Britain, 
Connecticut, on the 8th day of December, 
1811. His father bore the same name, and 
was an honest, industrious, benevolent shoe- 
maker, who reared a family of five sons and 
five daughters by labor. Of his sons Elihu 
is the youngest. The parents of this illus- 
trious man were both dead when he was a 
little over sixteen ; and having been con- 
strained by love and duty to toil for them, 
and forego the privileges of education, he 
he had at that period received only one 
quarter's schooling at the district school. 
This short term had been sufficient, how- 
ever, to enable him to acquire the power of 
reading, and he devoured all the books that 
came in his way with that avidity which an 
inordinate appetite could alone stimulate. 

When he was twenty-one, his brother 
Elijah, with whom he lived, and who was a 
teacher, prevailed upon him to study math- 



ELIHU BUREITT. 15 

ematics, and Latin and French. He com- 
plied, having no higher object in his studies 
than that of qualifying himself for a land- 
surveyor, and being able to read a few 
works in their original tongue ; but his win- 
ter's studies were the prelude to one of the 
most gigantic courses of mental labor and 
acquirement that the mind of man ever tri- 
umphed over. Alternately laboring with 
his hand and head, he earned his daily 
bread by the sweat of his intellectual brow, 
and gradually became probably the first 
linguist in the world. 

Elihu Burritt possesses all the pre-requi- 
sites of a cosmopolitan apostle of peace ; he 
is master of fifty languages, and his sympa- 
thies for the good and true are as extensive 
as the world wide. 

Says an English writer, " When we 
grasped this remarkable man by the hand 
that had gained him bread and the power 
to independently pursue his herculean stu- 
dies, and looked upon his face which was 
lighted up with the vast intelligence that 



16 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

slumbers in fifty tongues, we thought that 
we had never been so powerfully struck 
with a sense of man's duality, of the digni- 
ty of labor, and of the modesty of superla- 
tive mind ; we rejoiced in contemplating 
Elihu Burritt as a protest in favor of his 
class. He was an illustration of the capa- 
city of the people — a grand illustration, we 
confess — and of the compatibility of willing, 
joyous toil with high and vast attainments. 
Elihu Burritt is a working-man in his very 
essence — he could not be an idler or he 
would die. He must either work with the 
head or hand — he must labor or become a 
nonentity. He looks upon labor as a prin- 
ciple deriveable immediately from the Crea- 
tor, and analogous to Him ; it is from Him 
and of Him when, like the artisan's and 
Christian philanthropist's, it is constructive, 
and consequently he considers his estate, 
as a toiling, producing man, the most digni- 
fied on earth." 



THE PARTY MAN. 17 



THE PAETY MAN. 

He has associated his ambition, his inter- 
ests, and his affections, with a party. He 
prefers, doubtless, that his side should be 
victorious by the best means, and under 
the championship of good men ; but rather 
than lose the victory, he will consent to 
any means, and follow any man. Thus, 
with a general desire to be upright, the 
exigency of his party pushes constantly to 
dishonorable deeds. He opposes fraud by 
craft ; lie by lie ; slander by counter- 
aspersion. To be sure it is wrong to mis- 
take, to distort, to suppress, or color facts ; 
it is wrong to employ the evil passions ; to 
set class against class ; the poor against the 
rich, the country against the city, the 
farmer against the mechanic, one section 
against another section. But his oppo- 
nents do it, and if they will take advantage 
of men's corruption, he must, or lose by 
his virtue. He gradually adopts two char- 



18 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

acters, a personal and a political character. 
All the requisitions of his conscience he 
obeys in his private character ; all the 
requisitions of his party, he obeys in his 
political conduct. In one character he is a 
man of principle ; in the other, a man of 
mere expedients. As a man, he means to 
be veracious, honest, moral ; as & politician, 
he is deceitful, cunning, unscrupulous, — 
anything for a party. As a man, he 
abhors the slimy demagogue ; as a poli- 
tician, he employs him as a scavenger. As 
a man, he shrinks from the flagitiousness of 
slander ; as a politician, he permits it, 
smiles upon it in others, rejoices in the suc- 
cess gained by it. As a man, he respects 
no one who is rotten in heart ; as a poli- 
tician, no man through whom victory may 
be gained can be too bad. As a citizen, 
he is an apostle of temperance ; as a poli- 
tician, he puts his shoulder under the men 
who deluge their track with whiskey, 
marching a crew of brawling patriots pug- 
naciously drunk, to exercise the freeman's 



THE PARTY MAN. 19 

noblest franchise — the vote. As a citizen, 
he is considerate of the young, and coun- 
sels them with admirable wisdom ; then, as 
a politician, he votes for tools, supporting 
for the magistracy worshipful aspirants 
scraped from the ditch, the grogshop, and 
the brothel ; thus saying by deeds which 
the young are quick to understand : " I 
jested when I warned you of bad company ; 
for you perceive none worse than those 
whom I delight to honor." For his re- 
ligion he will give up all his secular inter- 
ests ; but for his politics he gives up even 
his religion. He adores virtue, and re- 
wards vice. Whilst bolstering up unrighte- 
ous measures, and more unrighteous men, 
he prays for the advancement of religion, 
and justice, and honor. I would to God 
that his prayer might be answered upon his 
own political head ; for never was there a 
place where such blessings were more 
needed ! I am puzzled to know what will 
happen at death to this public Christian, 
but most unchristian politician. 



20 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 



EAKLY MAERIAGES. 

The children of very young parents are 
generally deficient in strength of body and 
mind, and commonly die young. Franklin 
was the fifteenth child of his father, and 
the eighth of his mother ; and more still, 
he was the youngest child for five succes- 
sive generations on the mother's side, from 
whom more than his father, he inherited his 
eminent talents. Pitt, Fox, and Burke, 
were each the youngest child of their 
respective families. Daniel Webster is the 
youngest by a second marriage ; so was 
also Lord Bacon, whose father was fifty, 
and his mother thirty-two years of age at 
his birth. Judge Story's mother was 
forty-four years of age at his birth. Ben- 
jamin West was the tenth child of his 
parents ; — and Dr. Doddridge was the 
twentieth child by one father and mother. 
It is a proverb that " the youngest children 
are the smartest." — And why ? evidently 



EARLY MARRIAGES. 21 

because the parents are mature in mind 
and body, and consequently transmit a 
high order of mentality to their offspring. 
Does the intelligent farmer expect a 
healthy and luxuriant crop when he seeds 
with dwarfish green corn or unripe 
potatoes ? And why not bring in requisi- 
tion as much science and common sense to 
propagate the " human form divine," as 
" potatoes and cabbage ? " — Grant that 
early marriages would obviate much of 
the vice and wickedness which is now 
almost unavoidable, is not the remedy worse 
than the disease if it be the means of bring- 
ing into existence a race of puny, ill-formed 
children, a majority of whom die before 
they arrive at maturity ? But the evil 
does not end here. Those who live and 
transmit their mushroom constitution to 
their offspring, and thus most effectually 
are the " iniquities of the fathers visited 
upon their children." 



22 young man's gift. 



IDLENESS. 

Hard work for those who are not used to 
it, and dull work for those who are. Idle- 
ness is a moral leprosy, which soon eats its 
way into the heart and corrodes our happi- 
ness, while it undermines our health. 
Nothing is so hard to do, as to do nothing. 
The hypochondriacal Countess, who " en- 
vies every cinder-wench she sees," is much 
more to be pitied than the toiling drudge, 
w r ho " sighs for luxury and ease." 

Idleness is costly without being a luxury. 
Montagne always wound up the year's ac- 
count of his expenses with the following 
entry: "Item — for my abominable habit 
of idleness, a thousand livres." 

Idlers may deserve our compassion, but 
few things are more displaced than the 
contempt lavished upon them as useless 
members of society ; sometimes such scorn 
is only masked envy ; where it is real it is 
wrong. All rich idlers may be termed the 



IDLENESS. 23 



representatives of former industry and 
habit ; they must either have achieved 
independence by their own exertions or 
by those of their ancestors, for almost all 
wealth can be traced back to labor, or 
genius, or merit, of some sort. And why 
do the revilers of the idle, labor and toil 
with such perseverance ? that they may 
imitate those whom they abuse, by acquir- 
ing an independence and becoming them- 
selves idle. The sight of luxurious ease is 
the best stimulus to exertion. To suppose 
that the pleasure of overtaking is greater 
than that of pursuing the game, may be a 
mistake, but it is a beneficial one, and 
keeps society from stagnation. Rich idlers 
are the advancers of civilization, the best 
encouragers of industry — the surest pat- 
rons of literature and the arts. Nor is 
there anything invidious in their good for- 
tune, for every one may aspire to rival or 
surpass it, which is not the case with 
hereditary distinctions. 

We toil for leisure only to discover, when 



24 young man's gift. 

we have succeeded in our object, that leis- 
ure is a great toil. How quickly would 
the working classes be reconciled to what 
they term the curse of compulsory occupa- 
tion, if they were doomed only for a short 
time to the greater curse of compulsory 
idleness ! Quickly would they find, that it 
it is much better to wear out than to rust 
out. 



HOME. 



How sweet are the endearments of home ; 
how many loved associations'cluster around 
it. There a father's guiding, sustaining 
influence is felt ; there, too, a mother's 
watchful love, tenderly watching over the 
helpless hours of infancy, guiding her 
youthful minds by her counsel and exam- 
ple, sympathizing in all the joys and sor- 
rows of her little household. There, too, 
a circle of brothers and sisters, sharing 
each other's pleasures, happy in each 



HOME, 25 

other's love. With home, are associated 
our fondest recollections, our earliest 
recollections, our earliest remembrances. 
To that spot the heart fondly turns — 
there its warmest affections centre. The 
weary traveller turns towards it with long- 
ing eyes ; other places may be more beauti- 
ful, other spots may be surrounded with 
wealth and affluence, while poverty and 
sorrow may be inmates of his lonely 
dwelling, yet still it is dear to him. The 
stranger, in foreign climes, pines for home ; 
accents of love and kindness may fall upon 
his ear, but it is not a mother's or a sister's 
gentle voice. Man, driven on by restless 
passions, may roam through the world in 
search of pleasure, lured on by ambitious 
hopes of fame and honor ; he may engage 
in science or political strife, or he may lead 
his fellow-men to the battle-field, there to 
do the work of death, to make widows and 
orphans, to spread ruin and devastation on 
every side, and all to gratify his thirsting 
ambition. Or he may climb the heights of 
2 



26 young man's gift. 

science, to enrol his name in the annals of 
genius ; but it is to the quietude of home 
that he looks for peace and true happiness. 
0, when friends are cold and unkind, when 
the world withdraws its sympathies, it is 
then we turn to home, to seek in the bosom 
of those who are dearest to us, that sym- 
pathy and affection which the heart fondly 
craves. Although home is thus lovely and 
attractive, yet it is no earthly paradise, 
unless each member, as he crosses the 
threshold, leaves behind him his own selfish 
inclinations. It can be made happy, but 
it will require sacrifice and self-denial on 
the part of its members, to make it so. 



A GOOD SON. 

The good and dutiful son is one who 
honors his parents by paying unto them the 
utmost deference and respect; by a reve- 
rential awe, and veneration, and respect ; 
a filial affection for their persons, and a 
tender regard for their safety and preserva- 



A GOOD SON. 27 



tion ; a constant and cheerful attendance to 
their advice, and a ready and implicit obe- 
dience to their commands. As he becomes 
more sensible of his obligations to them, he 
grows every day more willing and more 
solicitous to pay them. He employs his 
youth to support their age ; his abundance 
to relieve their w T ants ; his knowledge and 
strength to support their infirmities and 
decay. He is more careful of his charac- 
ter and reputation in the w T orld, because 
their' s depends upon it. Ever anxious for 
their welfare, and attentive to their happi- 
ness, he endeavors, by every method in his 
pow r er, to prolong their days, that his own 
may be long in the land. He rests as- 
sured, that God will not only bless obedient 
children here, but will reward them with 
him forever ; where we shall join, son and 
father, daughter and mother, wife and hus- 
band, servant and master ; all the relations 
and connections of this life, to honor one 
great Parent, Protector, Lord and Master 
of all 



28 young man's gift. 



DOGMATISM. 

Maintain a constant watch at all times 
against a dogmatic spirit ; fix not your 
assent to any proposition in a firm and un- 
alterable manner, till you have some firm 
and unalterable ground for it, and till you 
have arrived at some clear and sure evi- 
dence ; till you have turned the proposition 
on all sides, and searched the matter 
through and through, so that you cannot 
be mistaken. And even where you think 
you have full grounds for assurance, be not 
too early nor too frequent in expressing this 
assurance in too peremptory and positive a 
manner, remembering that human nature is 
always liable to mistake in this corrupt and 
feeble state. 



ALBERT GALLATIN. 

This name is familiar to all those who 
have studied the history of this country. 



ALBERT GALLATIN. 29 

It may be said that his history began with 
that of our country. The halls of Con- 
gress rang with his eloquence. At one 
time he saved the country from bank- 
ruptcy ; was a commissioner at Ghent, an 
ambassador to the court of England, and 
France, and Secretary of the Treasury. 
In 1849, he was called to his final resting 
place, being the last survivor of the cabinet 
of Jefferson and Madison. Mr. Gallatin 
was born at Geneva, January, 1761. His 
father died when he was only four years of 
age, and he came to America at the age of 
nineteen. His career was commenced in 
the service of his adopted country, in 
Maine, then a part of Massachusetts. He 
had the command, in 1780, of a small fort in 
Passamaquoddy Bay, which was garrisoned 
by volunteers and Indians. He afterwards 
officiated at Harvard College as Professor 
of the French language. Having received 
his patrimony from Europe, he proceeded, 
in 1784, to Virginia, and there became the 
purchaser of lands. In 1786, he estab- 



30 THE YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

lished himself in Pennsylvania ; soon after 
which he was elected a member of the 
convention of that State to amend the 
constitution, and subsequently a member 
of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, where 
his financial abilities were exhibited, which 
afterwards rendered him so eminent in the 
administration of the national treasury. 
He was elected a Senator of the United 
States in 1793, where his elegibility was 
assailed on the ground, that though an 
American anterior to the adoption of the 
Constitution, nine years had not elapsed 
since his formal naturalization in Virginia, 
and his seat was vacated by a strictly party 
vote. Immediately on the decision of the 
Senate being promulgated, and without his 
knowledge, Mr. Gallatin was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives, 
and, while there, was distinguished as an 
able, honest legislator. In 1801, Mr. Jef- 
ferson called him to a seat in his cabinet. 
In 1813, he was at St. Petersburg as one 
of the envoys extraordinary, to negotiate 



ALBERT GALLATIN, 81 

with Great Britain, under the mediation of 
Russia ; and at Ghent, with John Quincy 
Adams and Jonathan Russell, together 
with Henry Clay and James A. Bayard, 
where they signed the Treaty of Peace, 

Geography was a favorite study with Mr. 
Gallatin ; no one surpassed him in this 
department of science. Soon after his 
arrival in Boston (1781,) he went to the 
roof of the house at which he put up, to 
see the features of the country around, and 
discovered the blue hills of Milton, the 
highest land in sight, and the next day set 
out on foot with a companion, and reached 
their summit ; there he discovered, in a 
north-westerly direction, other high lands, 
which he determined to visit ; and on the 
following day set out on foot with his com- 
panion in search of them. They proved to 
be in the town of Princeton, Worcester 
County. He ascended the highest point 
and surveyed the country around as hereto- 
fore. The tavern at which he stopped was 
kept by a man who had that curiosity 



82 YOUNG man's gift. 

which is manifested by some landlords at 
the present day, to know the whole history 
of their guests. Observing Mr. Gallatin's 
French accent, he said : " Just from 
France, eh ! You are a Frenchman I 
suppose," "No!" said Mr. G., " I am 
not from France." " You can't be from 
England, I am sure ? " " No ! " was the re- 
ply. "From Spain?" "No!" "From 
Germany?" "No!" " Well, where on 
earth are you from, then, or what are 
you ? " eagerly asked the inquisitive land- 
lord. "I am a Swiss," replied Mr. Gal- 
latin. " Swiss, Swiss, Swiss ! " exclaimed 
the landlord with wonder ; " which of the 
ten tribes are the Swiss ?" 

While in Virginia, Mr. Gallatin was for 
a time engaged in surveying, and first met 
General Washington at the office of a land 
agent, where, with others, they were met 
in reference to the location of a road. 
General Washington took his seat at a pine 
table and wrote down the particulars stated 
by those assembled. Mr. Gallatin was in 



ALBERT GALLATIN. 33 

the crowd, and feeling uneasy at the inde- 
cision of the General, when the point was 
so plain to him, suddenly interrupted the 
General by saying : " Oh, it is plain 
enough such a place (a spot just men- 
tioned) is the most practicable." The 
good people stared at the young surveyor 
(for he was only known as such) with sur- 
prise at his boldness in thrusting an opinion 
upon the General, unasked. This inter- 
ruption put a sudden stop to General 
Washington's enquiries. He laid down his 
pen, raised his eyes from his paper, and 
sternly looked at Mr. Gallatin, without 
saying a word. Resuming his former atti- 
tude, he made a few further enquiries, 
when, suddenly stopping, he threw down 
his pen, and, turning to Mr. Gallatin, said, 
" You are right, sir." After the separa- 
tion of the party, General Washington 
inquired who the young man was that 
interrupted him ; made his acquaintance, 
learnt his history, and urged Mr. Gallatin 
to become his land agent, which was 



34 young man's gift. 

declined. Few men have done more for 
their country. In reference to his declin- 
ing years, Mr. Gallatin said : " The true 
rule is never to suffer your faculties to get 
rusty ? and never to overtask them. 



WILLIAM WIRT TO HIS DAUGHTER. 

" I want to tell you a secret. The way 
to make yourself pleasing to others, is to 
show that you care for them. The whole 
world is like the miller at Mansfield, "who 
cared for nobody — no, not he,— because 
nobody cared for him." And the whole 
world will serve you so, if you give them 
the same cause. Let every one, therefore, 
see that you do care for them, by showing 
them, what Sterne so happily calls, " the 
small sweet courtesies of life,' 9 — those 
courtesies in which there is no parade ; 
whose voice is too still to tease, and which 
manifest themselves by tender and affection- 
ate looks, and little kind acts of attention, — 



WILLIAM WIRT TO HIS DAUGHTER. 35 

giving others the preference in every little 
enjoyment at the table, in the field, walking, 
sitting or standing. This is the spirit that 
gives to your time of life, and to your sex, 
its sweetest charm. It constitutes the sum 
total of all the witchcraft of woman. Let 
the world see that your first care is for 
yourself, and you will spread the solitude of 
the Upas tree around you, in the same way, 
by the emanation of a poison which kills 
all the juices of affection in its neighbor- 
hood. Such a girl may be admired for her 
understanding and accomplishments, but 
she will never be beloved. 

The seeds of love can never grow but un- 
der the warm and genial influence of kind 
feelings and affectionate manners. Vivac- 
ity goes a great way in young persons. It 
calls attention to her who displays it ; and, 
if it then be found associated with a generous 
sensibility, its execution is irresistible. 

On the contrary, if it be found in alliance 
with a cold, haughty, selfish heart, it pro- 
duces no further effect, except an adverse 



36 young- man's gift. 

one. Attend to this my daughter. It 
flows from a heart that feels for you all the 
anxiety a parent can feel, and not without 
the hope which constitutes the parents high- 
est happiness. May God protect and bless 
you. 

Your affectionate father, 

Wm. Wirt. 



BEAUTY. 

" Beauty hideth everywhere, that Rea- 
son's child may seek her ; — various in al- 
things, setting up her home in each, — 
shedding graciously around an omnipres- 
ent smile." Now dear reader, we trust 
that you are a lover of Nature, desir- 
ous of being more familiar with the products 
of the soil, and the wonderful formation of 
those plants which daily meet the eye ; if so, 
why not devote a little time for your own 
and other's amusement, as did Charles Curi- 
ous, who discourses somewhat as follows. 



KEEP YOUR TEMPER. 37 

" The leaf of the common garden rhu- 
barb, is a fine display of the order of veg- 
etable nature. It is common to find them 
about two feet square. I found that on the 
surface of a single leaf, could be traced 
more than two miles of distinct canals, 
through which the nourishment passed, to 
give life to the leaf. These canals being 
about the sixteenth of an inch apart, divided 
the leaf into 130,000 fields, each as distinct 
to the eye as the division walls of the well 
cultivated farm. There are lateral fibres 
more minute than the unaided eye can dis- 
cover, passing in close contiguity through 
these small fields, and could all the canals 
for circulation in a single leaf be extended 
in one line, they would probably reach the 
distance of ten miles." 



KEEP YOUR TEMPER, 

Few men in public or private life escape 
the tongue of scandal. There is a propen- 



38 young man's gift. 

sity in human nature to cover its own de- 
fects by prating of the misdeeds of others. 
And it is not easy for the Christian even, 
always to hold his peace when idle tongues 
are dealing with his fair name. If wise, 
however, he will do so, and let a lie die a na- 
tural death, instead of galvanizing it into life 
by the battery of passion. 

There is much good sense and sound phi- 
losophy in the following extract from the 
private note of a valued correspondent : — 
" I like," he writes, " the story of the black- 
smith who was requested to bring a suit for 
slander. He said he could go into his shop 
and hammer out a better character in six 
months, than all the courts in Christendom 
could give him. I lately saw a piece which 
did me great and outrageous wrong. So I 
sat down and wrote six pratical pieces for 
the press, and let the thing pass. I found 
this the best way of keeping my temper. I 
think it more likely to give me a fair name 
with good people, than those everlasting de- 
fences. 



THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 39 



THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

Mr. James Lewis Smithson, a natural 
son of the Duke of Northumberland, and a 
gentleman of some repute as a scientific 
chemist, died in 1830. He was noted for 
his skill in analyzing minute quantities ; 
and it was he who caught a teaj* as it fell 
from a lady's cheek, and detected the salts 
and other substances which held it in solu- 
tion. Mr. Smithson was a Fellow of the 
Royal Society, and intended to bequeath 
his large wealth to that body at his death ; 
but taking offence at some real or fancied 
slight towards him on their part, he altered 
his will, and left his property to the govern- 
ment of the United States of America, " to 
found at Washington, under the name of 
the Smithsonian Institution, an establish- 
ment for the increase and diffusion of knowl- 
edge among men." 

It appears that the amount of the be- 
quest, 515,169 dollars (above £100,000,) 



40 rouNG MAN*S GIFT. 

was paid into the United States Treasury 
in 1838. Some years were suffered to 
elapse before the preliminary arrangements 
were determined on ; at length, in 1846, 
the fund, then nearly 765,000 dollars, was 
placed under the control of the " Board of 
Regents" chosen to conduct the Institution. 
The Board consists of the Vice President 
of the United States, the Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court, and the Mayor of 
Washington, together with twelve other 
members, three of whom are appointed by 
the Senate from its own body, three by 
the House of Representatives from its mem- 
bers, and six citizens appointed by a joint 
resolution of both houses. 



LIVE FOR SOMETHING. 

Thousands of men breathe, move, and 
live — pass off the stage of life, and are 
heard of no more. Why ? They did not 
a particle of good in the world ; and none 



REDEEMING TIME. 41 

were blest by them ; none could point to 
them as the instruments of their redemp- 
tion ; not a line that they wrote, not a word 
that they spoke could be recalled, and so 
they perished— their light went out in dark- 
ness 5 and they were not remembered more 
than the insects of yesterday. Will you 
thus live and die, man immortal ! Live 
for something. Do good, and leave behind 
you a monument of virtue that the storm of 
time can never destroy. Write your name 
by kindness, love, and mercy, on the hearts 
of the thousands you come in contact with 
year by year, and you will never be forgot- 
ten. No, your name— your deeds — will be 
as legible on the hearts you leave behind, 
as the stars on the brow of evening. Good 
deeds will shine as brightly on the earth as 
the stars of heaven. 



KEDEEMING TIME. 

Dean Swift, when he claimed at the 
usual time the degree of A. B., was so 



42 YOUNG man's gift, 

deficient as to obtain it only by special 
favor, a term used to denote a want of 
merit. Of this disgrace he was so ashamed 
that he resolved to study eight hours a 
day, and continued his industry for seven 
years, with what improvement is sufficiently 
known. This part of his history deserves 
to be remembered ; it may afford useful 
admonition to young men, whose abilities 
have been made for a time useless by 
their passion for pleasure, and who, having 
lost one part of life in idleness, are tempted 
to throw aw 7 ay the remainder in despair. 



FAMILY GOVERNMENT. 

Eveey nation has stamped a great value 
on the family compact, and guarded it with 
the most powerful sanctions. It is by the 
fireside, and upon the family hearth, that 
patriotism, and every public virtue grows ; 
as it is in disordered families that factious 
demagogues, and tyranical oppressors are 



BE WIDE AAVAKE. 43 

trained up to be their neighbor's scourge. 
It is there that the thorn and the brier, to 
use the similie of the prophet, or the myrtle 
and the fir tree are reared, which are in 
future time to be the ornament and defence, 
or the deformity and misery of the land. 



BE WIDE AWAKE, 

About any honest employment Provi- 
dence throws in your way. Keep at it — 
heartily and earnestly at it. Don't slack 
up and be languid. Hold on. We will 
give you a dish of capital reasons and a 
variety of them. 

1. That is the way to be happy. "I 
have lived," said Dr. Adam Clarke, " long 
enough to know that the great secret of 
human happiness is this : never suffer your 
energies to stagnate. The old adage of 
" too many irons in the fire," conveys an 
untruth. You cannot have too many — 



44 YOUNG man's gift. 

poker, tongs and all — keep them all 
going." 

2. That is the way to accomplish a vast 
deal in a short life. The late Wm. Hazlitt 
remarked, " There is room enough in 
human life to crowd almost every art and 
science into it. The more we do, the more 
we can do ; the more busy we are, the more 
leisure we have." 

3. That is the way to be contented. 
The unemployed are always restless and 
uneasy. Occupation quiets the mind by 
giving it something to do. Idleness makes 
it, like an empty stomach, uneasy. The 
mate of a ship, having put everything to 
rights, called on the captain for what next 
should be done. " Tell them to scour the 
anchor," was the reply, on the principle 
that occupation, however needless, saves 
from the discontent of idleness. 

4. That is the way to keep out of bad 
company. He will rove who has not rest 
for his mind in some occupation. And 
roving, he will fall in with other rovers. 



MARRIED LIFE. 45 

They are birds of a feather. And, as 
gathered burning brands augment the 
flame and heat, so do gathered rovers and 
loafers and idlers augment the taste and 
activity of each other's minds for evil 
doing. 

5. That is the way to disappoint Satan. 
He comes up to the idler with assurance of 
a victim ; from the well occupied he departs 
as a roaring lion robbed of his prey. The 
one welcomes, the other repulses him. 

6. That is the way to pay due respect to 
counsel from the highest of all counsellors. 
" Diligent in business," says the Divine 
Record ! Do something therefore — the 
right thing — do it — - keep on doing it. 
Be wide awake about it. 



MARRIED LIFE. 

In considering our public and social 
duties, we must be aware that married life 
has its full share. When men marry and 



46 young man's gift. 

settle down in life, the world generally 
looks on with approbation, and its congratu- 
lations are warmly given. The reason is 
obvious : " In marrying, a guarantee is 
given society for our good behavior." 

But married life is not always as happy 
as it might be, and those who have resolved 
to live for each other, sometimes end their 
career in mutual dislike. But if it does 
come to this, there are often little disagree- 
ments, misunderstandings and troubles, 
which destroy the peace of married people ; 
and in general the fault is to be traced to a 
want of consideration, a little precipitancy 
of action, on one side or the other. Half 
the success of married life depends upon 
the attention paid to trifles. Uniform kind- 
ness of manners is a sure method of pre- 
serving domestic quiet. In a recent work 
on social life, we have met with much on 
the treatment which husbands should give 
their wives and wives their husbands. The 
advice comes from a sagacious observer of 
mankind, and we think we cannot do our 



MARRIED LIFE, 47 



readers a more agreeable service than by 
transferring to our pages some of the max- 
ims which come from this well-wisher to our 
race. 

" Husbands should always regard their 
wives as their equals, and treat them with 
kindness, respect, and attention. They 
should never address them with an air of 
authority, or as a master ; nor interfere 
with domestic concerns, the employment or 
discharge of servants. The wife should 
always be supplied with money in propor- 
tion to her husband's means, that she may 
procure those things indispensable to the 
table, and for her personal comfort. Her 
reasonable wishes should be cheerfully com- 
plied with. Temper never should be shown 
at those slight irregularities in the domestic 
arrangements which will occasionally occur 
in families, and are often caused by ser- 
vants. If the wife be a strong-minded and 
prudent woman, she is her husband's best 
counsellor, and should be consulted in 
every difficulty. Many a man has been 



48 young man's gift. 



saved from ruin by this course, and many a 
one ruined by not adopting it. If the hus- 
band's circumstances are embarrassed, she 
should know it ; as women, who are kept in 
ignorance of them, often expend money 
which they would not do, if they knew the 
truth. 

" A wife should never be rebuked or 
chidden in company, for any little mistakes 
in conversation, or any other cause. Some 
men do this constantly, and strike a keener 
dart at the feelings of a sensitive woman 
than they would by a sharp rebuke in pri- 
vate. Anything like an exposure of igno- 
rance in company, impairs her respect for 
herself and the good opinion entertained of 
her by others. 

" Wives should always receive their hus- 
bands with smiles, make their homes agree- 
able to them as possible, and gratefully 
reciprocate their attentions. They should 
study to gratify their wishes with regard to 
food, its preparation, the management of 
the family in dress, manners and deport- 



MARRIED LIFE. 49 

ment. A wife should never rale or seek to 
rule her husband, for such conduct de- 
grades both in the estimation of others. 
Cheerful compliance with his wishes — in- 
deed, the anticipation of them, should be 
constantly studied. All altercations and 
arguments leading to ill-humor, must be 
avoided, whether before strangers or in 
private. Married life is too often embit- 
tered by idle disputes, without any real 
cause for them. Wives should not inter- 
fere in their husband's business, unless 
their advice is particularly asked. They 
should never speak of their differences of 
opinion, nor of the failings and imper- 
fections of their husbands, even to their 
most intimate friends. For in spite of all 
the pledges given of secrecy, these things 
will soon become known to a numerous 
circle. This is a very common mistake, 
and many an unsuspecting husband is the 
object of very improper remarks. Wives 
should, at every opportunity, cultivate their 
own minds, that they may be rational com- 



iO YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

panions. In their expenditure they should 
remember the vicissitudes of life, and not 
incur expenses which may prove inconve- 
nient or injurious. They should, in domes- 
tic life, think nothing a trifle which may 
interrupt its harmony, or give real uneasi- 
ness. If disposed to economise in their 
household affairs, they should never do it 
at the expense of the poor women who are 
in their employment, the seamstress or the 
laundress. Some women are parsimonious 
to the extreme in the wages they allow, 
only to be extravagant and wasteful in 
their own personal expenditures. This is 
an offence which will bring upon any family 
in which it is permitted, sooner or later, 
retributive justice. 



AN EVERY DAY OCCURRENCE. 

The apple which falls from the tree is 
met by the earth ; not half way, but at a 
distance fitly proportioned to their respective 



AN EVERY DAY OCCURRENCE. 51 

masses. The moon follows the movement 
of the earth with instant obedience, and the 
sun with prompt humility bends his course 
to theirs. The sister planets with their 
moons are moved by sympathy with earth, 
and the stars and most distant clusters of 
the universe obey the leading of the sun. 
Thus, throughout all the fields of space, 
wherever stars or suns are scattered, they 
move for the falling apple's sake. Nor is 
the motion slowly taken up. The moon 
waits for no tardy moving impulse from the 
earth, but instantly obeys. The speed of 
light which reaches the sun in a few min- 
utes, would be too slow compared with this. 
Electricity itself, coursing round the earth 
a thousand times an hour, can give us no 
conception of the perfectly simultaneous 
motions of gravity. There are stars visible 
to the telescopic eye, whose light has been 
ages on its swift winged course before it 
reached this distant part of space ; but they 
move in instant accordance with the falling 
fruit. True it is, that our senses re- 



52 YOUNG man's gift. 

fuse to bear witness to any motion other 
than the apple's fall, and our fingers tire 
if we attempt to write the long list of figures, 
which our Arabic notation requires to ex- 
press the movement thereby given to the 
sun. Yet that motion can be proved to exist 
and the algebraist's formula, can represent 
its quantity. Thou who hast raised thy 
hand to do a deed of wickedness, stay thine 
arm ! The universe will be witness of thine 
act, and bear an everlasting testimony 
against thee ; for every star in the remot- 
est heavens will move when thy hand moves, 
and all the tearful prayers thy soul can 
utter, will never restore those moving orbs 
to the path from which thy deed has drawn 
thee. 



ELI WHITNEY. 

Mr. Whitney, was born in Westborough, 
Massachusetts, December 8, 1765. His 
early years were spent in assisting his 



ELI WHITNEY. 53 

father, who was a farmer, residing in the 
south part of the town. His father belonged 
to that class of men who, in their frugal, 
quiet way, were somewhat satisfied to do 
what their fathers had done before them. 
The activity of young Whitney's mind, lead 
him often to retreat from the labors of the 
farm, for which he did not evince a great 
fondness, to the workshop of his father, 
where his taste for mechanics could be grat- 
ified. Among the anecdotes related of his 
early years, it is said that his father having 
occasion to leave home for a few days, on 
his return, enquired, as was his custom, into 
the occupation of his boys while he was 
absent. A good account was given of all 
of them except Eli, of whom his housekeep- 
er reluctantly said, that he had been making 
a fiddle. — " Ah " said his father, with his 
characteristic shake of the head, " I fear 
that Eli will have to take out his portion in 
fiddles." We cannot wonder much at the 
father's forebodings, when we see how fre- 
quently idle,dissolute boys take up the fiddle, 



54 YOUNG man's gift. 

or follow its sound. It is said however, that 
this fiddle proved to be a very good one. 

About this period, his stepmother (who 
had recently become such) was in possession 
of a set of knives and forks, which were 
highly prized by her, as a superior article. 
Eli observed to her that they were well 
made, but that if he had proper tools, he 
thought he could produce as good, by his 
own manufacture. The mother was offen- 
ded, thinking that he intended to undervalue 
that which she so much prized, but it was 
not long after, that one of the knives became 
broken, and he supplied its place so perfect- 
ly, that it was not to be told from the others, 
except for the want of the stamp, which he 
had not the tools suited to impart to it. 
Although but about thirteen years of age, 
his reputation as a skilful mechanic had 
become so general in town, that the people 
were in the habit of bringing to him mechan- 
ical jobs to execute, which were performed 
with such neatness, as always to satisfy, and 
not unfrequently to astonish those who 



ELI WHITNEY. 55 



beheld his work. When about sixteen 
years of age, young Whitney persuaded his 
father to furnish him with the necessary 
implements for making nails, which, at that 
time bore a great price, and for two years 
he was employed profitably in this occupa- 
tion, the father taking good care to reserve 
to himself all the profits arising from the 
manufacture. 

About this period, he determined to 
acquire a collegiate education. By much 
perseverance and labor, as a mechanic, and 
keeping school, he succeeded in procuring 
the means necessary to defray his expenses 
as well as the knowledge requisite to enable 
him to enter Yale College in the year 1789, 
when about twenty-four years of age. 



ME. CALHOUN'S FUNEEAL AT 
CHAELESTON, S. C. 

The day set apart for the reception of 
the remains of Mr. Calhoun was a day 



0$ YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

which will long be remembered in Charles- 
ton. There was that deep-felt respect and 
veneration for his character pervading the 
community, which made what otherwise 
would have been but a grand and imposing 
pageant, exceedingly solemn and interest- 
ing. His stern and incorruptible integrity 
in public life, and the spotless purity of his 
private character, associated as these were 
with talent of the most exalted kind, 
rendered him a " bright particular star," 
whose disappearance from our sky must 
necessarily excite no common emotion. 
The Sabbath stillness of the morning of 
that day, the entire cessation of the labor 
and tumult of ordinary life, the spectacle 
of a whole city congregated around the 
bier of the mighty dead, the solemnity and 
propriety of demeanor which, in harmony 
with the outward signs of mourning, were 
everywhere visible, extending down to the 
very lowest stratum of society — these con- 
stituted an impressive and sincere homage 
to illustrious talent and virtue, which no 



mr. calhoun's funeral. 57 

man but Calhoun could have called forth, 
and which no city but Charleston could 
have rendered. The population that dark- 
ly hung on the skirts of the funeral proces- 
sion (a mile long,) conducted themselves 
with a decorum and quietness quite in con- 
trast with the massive lowborn rowdyism 
which will have a " place in the picture " 
on all public occasions in Philadelphia and 
New York. 

Everything was done — and done in the 
best possible manner — that could indicate 
the sorrow of the City and the State, in 
view of such a bereavement. The scene 
was specially interesting when, in presence 
of the multitude that filled the Citadel 
Square, and who stood the while uncovered^ 
the Chairman of the Senate Committee, in 
brief but eloquent words, resigned their 
charge to the Governor of the State, who, 
replying with dignity and solemnity, then 
committed the remains to the care of the 
City authorities. Two hundred citizens, 
all of the highest respectability, in watches 
4 



58 YOUNG MAK 7 S GIFT, 

of twenty each, kept guard during the in- 
terval between the reception at the City 
Hall at the close of the procession, and the 
interment in St. Phillip's churchyard, after 
religious services, on the following day. 
On this last occasion, Bishop Ladsden, an 
early associate of Mr. Calhoun's officiated, 
and an elegant funeral oration was pro- 
nounced by Rev. J. W. Miles, Professor in 
the Charleston College. Many days from 
that time, flowers, fresh every day, were 
laid by fair hands on the marble which 
now covers all that was mortal of John 
C. Calhoun. 

It was grateful and soothing to the feel- 
ings of the friends and admirers of the 
illustrious dead, as, indeed, it was henora- 
ble to our nature, that such homage should 
have been paid to his memory at Washing- 
ton, by those who were farthest from coin- 
ciding with him in political views. Massa- 
chusetts spoke then, in the Senate, in the 
tones of an eloquence which belongs but to 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG MEN. 59 

one living man ; and in the House of Rep- 
resentatives her homage to the dead was 
scarcely less splendid. 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG MEN. 

Alexander, of Macedon, extended his 
power over Greece, conquered Egypt, re- 
built Alexandria, overrun all Asia, and 
died at thirty-three years of age. 

Hannibal was but twenty-six, when, after 
the fall of his father Hamilcar, and Asdru- 
bal, his successor, he was chosen com- 
mander-in-chief of the Carthagenian Army. 
At twenty-seven he captured Saguntum 
from the Romans. Before he was thirty- 
four, he carried his arms from Africa into 
Italy, conquered Publius Scipio on the 
banks of the Ticinus, routed Sempronius 
near the Trebia, defeated Flaminus on his 
approach to the Appenines, laid w^aste the 
w T hole country, defeated Fabius Maximus 
and Varro, marched into Capua, and at the 



60 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

age of thirty-six was thundering at the 
gates of Rome. 

Scipio Africanus was scarcely sixteen 
when he took an active part in the battle of 
Cannae, and saved the life of his father. 
The wreck of the Roman Cavalry chose 
him then for their leader, and he conducted 
them back to the capitoL Soon after he 
was twenty, he was appointed pro-consul of 
Spain, where he took New Carthage by 
storm. He soon after defeated, successive- 
ly, Asdrubal, (Hannibal's brother,) Mago, 
and Ilann ; crossed over into Africa, nego- 
tiating with Syphax, the Massasylian king, 
returned to Spain, quelled die insurrection 
there, drove the Carthagenians wholly from 
the peninsula, returned to Home, devised 
the diversion against the Carthagenians by 
earning the war into Africa, crossed 
thither, destroyed the army of Syphax, 
compelled the return of Hannibal, and 
defeated Asdrubal a second time. 

Charlemagne was crowned king of the 
Franks before he was twenty-six. At the 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG MEN. 61 

age of twenty-eight he had conquered 
Aquitania, at the age of twenty-nine he 
made himself master of the whole German 
and French empires. 

Charles XII., of Sweden, was declared 
of age by the States, and succeeded his 
father at the age of fifteen. At eighteen 
he headed the expedition against the 
Danes, whom he checked ; and with a 
fourth of their numbers, he cut to pieces 
the Russian army, commanded by the Czar 
Peter, at Narva — crossed the Dwina, 
gained a victory over the Saxons, and car- 
ried his arms into Poland. At twenty-one 
he had conquered Poland, and dictated to 
her a new sovereign. At twenty-four he 
had subdued Saxony, and at twenty-seven 
he was conducting his victorious troops into 
the heart of Russia, when a severe wound 
prevented his taking command in person, 
and resulted in his overthrow and subse- 
quent treacherous captivity in Turkey. 

Lafayette was a major general in the 
American army at the age of eighteen; 



G2 young man's gift. 

was but twenty when he was wounded 
at Brandywine ; but twenty-two when he 
raised supplies for his army, on his own 
credit, at Baltimore ; and but twenty-three 
when raised to the office of commander-in- 
chief of the national guards of France. 

Napoleon Bonaparte commenced his mil- 
itary career as an officer of artillery, at the 
age of seventeen. At twenty-four he suc- 
cessfully commanded the artillery at the 
seige of Toulon. His splendid and victori- 
ous campaign in Italy was performed at the 
age of twenty-seven. During the next 
year, when he was about twenty-eight, he 
gained battle after battle over the Austri- 
ans in Italy, conquered Mantua, carried 
the war into Austria, ravaged the Tyrol, 
concluded an advantageous peace, took 
possession of Milan and the Venitian 
republic, revolutionized Genoa, and formed 
the Cisalpine Republic. At the age of 
twenty-nine he received the command of 
the army against Egypt ; scattered the 
clouds of Mameluke cavalry, mastered Al- 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG MEN, €3 

exandria, Aboukir and Cario, and wrested 
the land of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies 
from the proud descendants of the prophet. 
At the age of thirty he fell among the 
Parisians, like a thunderbolt, overthrew the 
directorial government ; dispersed the coun- 
cil of five hundred, and was proclaimed 
first consul. At the age of thirty-one he 
crossed the Alps with an army and 
destroyed the Austrians by a blow at 
Marengo. At the age of thirty-two he 
established the Code of Napoleon ; in the 
same year he was elected consul for life by 
the people ; and at the age of thirty -three 
he was crowned emperor of the French 
nation. 

William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, 
was but twenty-seven years of age, when, 
as a member of Parliament, he waged the 
war of a giant against the corruptions of 
Sir Robert Walpole. 

The younger Pitt was scarcely twenty 
years of age when, with masterly power, 
he grappled with the veterans of Parlia- 



64 young man's gift. 

ment, in favor of America. At twenty-two 
he was called to the high and responsible 
trust of chancellor of the exchequer. It 
was at that age when he came forth in his 
might on the aifairs of the East Indies. 
At twenty -nine, during the first insanity of 
George III., he rallied around the Prince 
of Wales. 

Edmund Burke, at the age of nineteen, 
planned a refutation of the metaphysical 
theories of Berkley and Hume. At twenty 
he was in the temple, the admiration of its 
inmates for the brilliancy of his genius and 
the variety of his acquisitions. At twenty- 
six he published his celebrated satire, enti- 
tled " A Vindication of Natural Society." 
The same year he published his Essay on 
the Sublime and Beautiful — so much ad- 
mired for its spirit of philosophical investi- 
gation and the elegance of its language. 
At twenty five he was first lord of the 
treasury. 

George Washington was only twenty- 
seven years of age when he covered the 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG 31EN. 65 

retreat of the British troops at Braddock's 
defeat ; and the same year ay as appointed 
commander-in-chief of all the Virginia 
forces. 

General Joseph Warren was only twenty- 
nine years of age, when, in defiance of the 
British soldiers stationed at the door of the 
church, he pronounced the celebrated ora- 
tion which aroused the spirit of liberty and 
patriotism that terminated in the achieve- 
ment of independence. At thirty-four he 
gloriously fell, gallantly fighting in the 
cause of freedom, on Bunker Hill. 

Alexander Hamilton was a lieutenant- 
colonel in the army of the American Revo- 
lution, and aid-de-camp to Washington, at 
the age of twenty. At twenty-five he w 7 as 
a member of Congress from New York ; at 
thirty, he was one of the ablest members of 
the convention that formed the Constitution 
of the United States. At thirty-one he 
was a member of the New York conven- 
tion, and joint author of the great work 
entitled the "Federalist." At thirty-two 



66 young man's gift. 

lie was secretary of the treasury of the 
United States, and arranged the financial 
branch of the government upon so perfect 
a plan, that no great improvement has ever 
been made upon it by his successors. 

Thomas Haywood, of South Carolina, 
was but thirty years of age when he signed 
the glorious record of the nation's birth, 
the Declaration of Independence ; Elbridge 
G-erry, of Massachusetts, Benjamin Hush 
and James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, were 
but thirty-one years of age ; Matthew 
Thornton, of New Hampshire, thirty-two ; 
Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, Arthur 
Middleton, of North Carolina, and Thomas 
Stone, of Maryland, thirty-three ; and 
William Hooper, of North Carolina, but 
thirty-four. 

John Jay, at twenty-nine years old, was 
a member of the Revolutionary Congress, 
and being associated with Lee and Living- 
ston, on the committee for drafting an 
address to the people of Great Britain, 
drew up that paper himself, which was con- 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG MEN. 67 

sidered one of the most eloquent produc- 
tions of the time. At thirty-two he penned 
the old constitution of New York, and in 
the same year was appointed chief justice 
of that State. At thirty-four he was ap- 
pointed minister to Spain. 

At the age of twenty-six, Thomas Jef- 
ferson was a leading member of the Colo- 
nial Legislature in Virginia. At thirty he 
was a member of the Virginia Convention ; 
at thirty-two a member of Congress ; and 
at thirty-three, he drafted the Declaration 
of Independence. 

Milton, at the age of twenty, had writ- 
ten his finest miscellaneous poems, includ- 
ing his L' Allegro, Penseroso, Comus, and 
the most beautiful of Monodies. 

Lord Byron, at the age of twenty, pub- 
lished his celebrated satire upon the English 
Bards and Scotch Reviewers ; at twenty- 
four, the two first Cantos of Childe Harold's 
Pilgrimage. Indeed, all the vast poetic 
treasures of his genius were poured forth in 
their richest profusion before he was thirty- 



G8 young man's gift. 

four years old ; and he died at thirty-seven. 

Mozart, the great German musician, 
completed all his noble compositions before 
he was thirty-four years old, and died at 
thirty-five. 

Pope wrote many of his published poems 
by the time he was sixteen years old ; at 
twenty his Essay on Criticism ; at twenty- 
one the Rape of the Lock ; and at twenty- 
five his great work, the translation of the 
Illiad. 

Sir Isaac Newton had mastered the 
highest elements of the mathematics and 
the analytical method of Des Cartes before 
he was twenty ; had discovered the new 
method of infinite series of Auctions, and 
his new theory of light and colors. At 
twenty-five he had discovered the new 
principles of the reflecting telescope, the 
laws of gravitation, and the planetary sys- 
tem. At thirty he occupied the mathemat- 
ical chair at Cambridge. 

Dr. DwigMs conquest of Canan was 
commenced at the age of sixteen, and 



CHAPTER OF YOUNG MEN. 69 

finished at twenty-two. At the latter age, 
he composed his celebrated dessertation on 
the history, eloquence and poetry of the 
Bible, which was immediately published 
and republished in Europe. 



GENTLENESS. 

Years may pass over our heads without 
affording an opportunity for acts of high 
beneficence or extensive utility. Whereas 
not a day passes, but, in the common trans- 
actions of life, and especially in the inter- 
course of domestic society, gentleness finds 
a place for promoting the happiness of others, 
and for strengthening in ourselves the habit 
of virtue'. There are situations not a few 
in human life, where the encouraging recep- 
tion, the condescending behaviour, and the 
look of sympathy, bring greater relief to 
the heart than the most bountiful gift. 



70 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 



PHENOMENA OF SOUND. 

In the Artie regions persons can converse 
at more than a mile distant when the ther- 
mometer is below zero. In air, sound tra- 
vels from 1130 to 1142 feet per second. 
In water, sound passes at the rate of 4708 
feet per second. Sound travels in air about 
900 feet for every pulsation of a healthy 
person at 7 "> in a minute. A bell sounded 
under water may be heard under water at 
1-00 feet distant. Sounds are distinct at 
twice the distance on water that they are 
on land. In a balloon, the barking of dogs 
on the ground may be heard at an elevation 
of three or four miles. On Table Mountain, 
a mile above Cape Town, every noise in it, 
and even words, may be heard distinctly. 
The fire of the English on landing in Egypt 
was plainly heard 130 miles on the sea. 
Dr. Jameson says, in calm weather we 
heard every word of a sermon, at the 
distance of two miles. Water is a better 



PHENOMENA OF SOUND. 71 

conductor of sound than air. Wood is also 
a powerful conductor of sound, and so is 
flannel or riband. Sound affects particles 
of dust in a sunbeam, cobwebs, and water 
in musical glasses ; it shakes small pieces 
of paper off a string in concord. Deaf 
persons may converse through deal rods 
held between the teeth, or held to the throat 
or breast. Echoes are formed by elliptical 
surfaces combined with surrounding surfa- 
ces, or by such of them as fall into the 
respective distances of the surface of an 
ellipse, and are therefore directed to the 
other focus of the ellipse ; for all the dis- 
tances from both foci to such surface are 
equal, and hence there is a concentration of 
sounds at those points direct from one focus, 
and reflected back again from the other 
focus. An echo returns a monosyllable at 
70 feet distance, and another syllable at 
every 40 feet additional. The echo of artil- 
lery is increased or created by a cloud, or 
clouds. Miners distinguish the substance 
bored by the sound ; and physicians distin- 



72 young man's gift. 

guish the action of the heart or lungs by a 
listening tube. Gamblers can distinguish, 
in tossing money, which side is undermost, 
though covered by the hand. 



PRIDE. 



There is no vice to which the human race 
are so prone, and none so unsuitable to their 
nature and condition, as pride — that self- 
love which springs up so rapidly in our souls, 
and leads us to view our own qualifications 
through a magnifying medium, which gives 
existence and reality to the phantoms of 
imagination. Pride commences with our 
life, grows with our growth, and spreads 
through all our conversation and conduct. 
She accompanies us through every stage, 
condition, and circumstance of our terrestrial 
course. She intermingles with almost every 
action we perform, and every pursuit in 
which we engage. She attends us to the 
grave, in all the pomp, solemnity, and ex- 



DRESS. 73 

pense of funeral. She engraves her osten- 
tatious inscriptions on the stone that covers 
the mouldering body ; and when that copy 
is incorporated with its original dust, and 
these words of vanity are no longer legible, 
she attempts, by escutcheons and pedigrees 
and genealogical legends, to perpetuate the 
name which wisdom had perhaps consigned 
to oblivion. This is more or less the foible, 
this the deformity, this the deep-rooted vice, 
of all mankind. Pride appears in the cot- 
tage as well as in the palace ; she sits on 
the workman's bench as well as on the 
monarch's throne ; she struts driving a flock 
of sheep as well as marching at the head of 
a victorious army. 



DRESS. 

There is not in the world a surer sign of 
a little soul than the striving to gain respect 
by such despicable means as dress and rich 
clothes : none will depend on these orna- 
ments but they who have no other. 
5 



TOUNG MAN S GIFT, 



LINDLEY MURRAY. 

Lindley Murray, the ' prince of Eng- 
lish grammarians,' was born in the memora- 
ble year 1745, at Swetara, near Lancaster, 
in the state of Pennsylvania. His father 
was an active and enterprising person, very 
anxious to improve his circumstances, and 
to raise his family to independence. Whilst 
he was following the occupation of a miller, 
he thought of devoting his attention to some 
other branch of business, and began trading 
to the West Indies, to which he made seve- 
ral successful voyages. Latterly, he became 
an extensive ship-owner, and engaged in a 
great variety of mercantile pursuits, by 
which he amassed a considerable fortune. 

To his mother, an amiable and clever 
woman, young Murray owed much, and he 
was sensible of it. He held her in great 
esteem, and cherished towards her the feel- 
ings of a most affectionate and devoted son. 
Both his parents were members of the Soci- 
ety of Friends, and ^they were pious and 



LINDLEY MURRAY. 75 

exemplary persons. The Bible was read 
daily in the family ; and one of the first 
things which made a strong impression on 
his mind was seeing his father shedding 
tears as he sat in a corner of the room, pe- 
rusing, by himself, the sacred page. This 
may appear to some a trifling incident ; but 
such was its influence upon the mind of 
Lindley Murray that he continued to refer 
to it with gratitude and gladness till the end 
of his days. 

Lindley was the eldest of twelve children. 
In his infancy he was very delicate. He 
was playful and frolicsome, however ; and, 
being weak and sickly, he was greatly in- 
dulged, especially by his grandmother, who 
lived in the family. Indeed, he was, in 
every sense of the term, a ' spoiled child ; ' 
and, as was to be expected, became very 
peevish and obstinate. He was full of mis- 
chief and tricks,- some of which indicated 
anything but an amiable disposition. As he 
was not corrected, he became so forward 
and ungovernable that it was found neces- 



76 young man's gift. 

sary to remove him from the observation of 
his indulgent grand-mother, and place him 
under the care of an aunt. She was a 
woman of great kindness, as well as firmness 
of character ; and it was not long till the 
wayward, mischievous boy found that he 
was under a very different kind of training 
from that to which he had formerly been 
subjected. To this discreet and excellent 
relative he was much indebted ; and in 
after-life he frequently confessed that to her 
wise and salutary management he owed in a 
great measure his future eminence. 

"When about seven years of age, he was 
sent to the city of Philadelphia, that he 
might have the benefit of a better educa- 
tion than could be had at Swetara. But he 
was not long at the academy of Philadelphia 
till he removed with his parents to North 
Carolina. Their residence there was tem- 
porary, and in 1753 they settled at New 
York. Lindley was sent to one of the best 
seminaries in the city, and every attention 
was paid to his education by his parents and 



LINDLEY MURRAY. 77 

teacher. Notwithstanding his fondness for 
play, he scarcely ever neglected to perform 
the tasks which were prescribed to him, and 
he did so to the satisfaction of his teacher. 
He made great progress in his education, and 
gained a reputation for talent and scholarship. 

From school, young Murray was removed 
at a very early age to the counting-house of 
his father, who was most desirous that his 
son should follow the mercantile profession, 
though all his efforts and solicitations to this 
effect failed. 

When between seventeen and eighteen 
years of age, he became so attached to liter- 
ary pursuits, that the counting-house had 
no charms for him. To follow his father's 
business — to be a merchant — he would 
not consent ; it seemed to him a most unin- 
teresting and unintellectual employment. 
He communicated his wishes to his father, 
and expressed his intention to follow the 
legal profession ; but his proposal was strong- 
ly objected to. His father reminded him of 
its temptations — of the small return it 



78 YOUNG man's gift. 

would yield him compared with what he 
would receive if he became a merchant — 
and the anxiety he felt that he should assist 
him in his mercantile pursuits ; but all argu- 
ment and persuasion failed ; he was deter- 
mined to follow a literary profession, though, 
in his father's estimation, it was neither so 
lucrative nor so honorable as that of a mer- 
chant. 

The office in which Murray was placed 
to acquire a knowledge of the law was one 
of the best which could be had in the city 
of New York. The principal was Benjamin 
Rissam, Esq., an intimate friend of his 
father's, a man of great integrity and emi- 
nence in his profession. John Jay, Esq., 
afterwards governor of New York, was his 
fellow-student — a young man who then 
gave indications of talent and excellence. 
With these advantages he prosecuted his 
studies with zeal and alacrity, and at the 
close of the fourth year he was called to the 
bar, and received license to practise both as 
counsel and attorney, according to the cus- 



LINBLET MURRAY. 79 

torn of that time. His success exceeded his 
expectations ; and at the age of twenty-two 
he married i a young woman of personal 
attractions, good sense, a most amiable dis- 
position, and of a worthy and respectable 
family.' 

Shortly after his marriage his father's 
business required him to go to England, and 
to remain for a time in that country. Cir- 
cumstances connected with his own profes- 
sion rendered it necessary for him to go 
there likewise. In 1771 they returned to 
New York, where he resumed the practice 
of the law. He was exceedingly attentive 
and laborious, and was generally esteemed 
for his professional knowledge, as well as his 
private worth. He never encouraged litiga- 
tion, even when he saw it to be for his own 
pecuniary advantage. He uniformly recom- 
mended a settlement of differences by arbi- 
tration, and never, in the whole course of 
his practice, did he undertake a case about 
the justice of which he had a doubt, or ad- 
vocate the claims of an individual which he 



80 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

thought unreasonable. He gained for him- 
self the reputation of 'an honest lawyer ;' and 
in consequence of his integrity as well as 
his ability he acquired great celebrity, and 
enjoyed for many years great success. 

Subsequently he removed to England, and 
settled in the village of Yorkshire, where he 
published his 4 Grammar of the English 
Language.' This work, which has gained 
such celebrity, was completed in less than a 
year. It was commenced in the spring of 
179-4, and published in the spring of 1795. 
He was induced to write it by some of his 
friends,who had established a school for young 
females in York. The first teachers w y ere 
but indifferently qualified in this respect. 
These young persons he kindly instructed 
in this particular branch of education at his 
own house, and afterwards, chiefly at their 
request, published the grammar. He never 
designed it to be used beyond this school, 
but it soon found its way into other semina- 
ries. It became in a short time a standard 
book, and for several years new editions of 



LINDLEY MURRAY. 81 

from 10,000 to 12,000 were published. 
The number of copies sold of ' The Abridg- 
ment of the Grammar,' which appeared in 
1795, has exceeded a million. 

He died on the 16th of February, 1826. 
His endowments, intellectual and moral, 
were of a superior order ; and few men have 
left behind them a higher reputation for wis- 
dom, piety, and benevolence. His writings 
are a standing memorial of his literary and 
intellectual qualifications ; and his conduct 
in all the relations of life testifies that he 
was a virtuous, generous, noble-minded man. 

Mr. Murray was a member of the Society 
of Friends. He, as might be expected, was 
much esteemed by them, and they greatly 
mourned his loss. He was one of their 
brightest ornaments. But though attached 
to that highly respectable body of Christians, 
he was not a bigot : he had a great respect 
for religious persons of every name ; and 
used his influence to heal the breaches which 
unhappily exist in the Christian church. 
He ' loved the brotherhood/ and he longed 



82 young man's gift. 

for the day when Christians would be of 
' one mind.' His testimony on this point is 
so excellent, and so necessary to be remem- 
bered in these latter days, that we must give 
it at length : — 

' We are long in learning to judge wisely 
of one another, and to make charitable 
allowances for difference of understanding, 
disposition, education, &c. Mankind are 
all brethren, the children of one Father ; 
they should, therefore, when we believe 
them to be sincere and upright, be received 
as fellow-partakers of the same privileges. ! 
. . . I respect piety and virtue wher- 
ever I meet them. It would be a proof of 
my own superficiality or depravity if I valued 
a truly religious man the less for the name 
and the profession which he sustains. I 
trust that I shall ever be influenced by the 
cheering sentiment that every man who sin- 
cerely loves God and works righteousness is 
accepted by him, and is entitled to universal 
esteem and regard.' 



ILLUSTRIOUS MECHANICS. 83 



ILLUSTRIOUS MECHANICS AND SELF- 
MADE MEN. 

Adam, the father of the human race, 
was a gardener. He had, however, a 
strange propensity for tasting unwholesome 
fruit, which produced very injurious effects, 
both upon himself and his offspring. 

Noah was a shipwright and a husbandman; 
he navigated the whole earth in his ark, and 
got " seas over " in his vineyard. 

Solomon was an architect, a poet and a 
philosopher ; his conduct, however, was not 
always by line and rule ; he trod the circle 
of dissipation, was erratic in his imagina- 
tions, and violated his own maxims. His 
conscience and strength of mind, however, 
reclaimed him, and his repentance is the 
most beautiful of the works which he has 
left for the contemplation of his species. 

The Apostle Paul was a tent-maker, and 
labored with his hands at his vocation, while 
he endeavored to infuse into the minds of 



84 young man's gift. 

his fellow men, the important truths of 
revelation. While he screened them with 
earthly tabernacles from the weather, he 
held above their souls the aegis of divine 
protection. 

Matthew was a poor fisherman, he relin- 
quished his humble calling for that of a 
missionary, and toiled assiduously to draw 
men from the fiery billows of perdition. 

Quintus Cincinnatus was a ploughman, 
and was invoked to the government and 
dictatorship of Rome. His labors in the 
political field were as successful as those 
upon the soil. 

Arsaces was a private mechanic, and was 
called to found the Parthian Empire. He 
built up a powerful nation, and erected for 
himself a mausoleum of fame which is in- 
destructible. 

Tamerlane, the conqueror of Asia, was 
also a mechanic ; he rough hewed Bajazet, 
and carved his way to fortune and glory. 

Massaniello, a Neapolitan fisherman, was 
raised to the command of fifty thousand 



ILLUSTRIOUS MECHANICS. 85 

men, and gave up fish lines for lines of 
bayonets, and river seines for scenes of 
carnage. 

John, of Leyden, in Germany, was a 
tailor, and rose to the dignity of a king. 
He cut out a bad piece of work, however, 
and afterwards came to a miserable end. 
His goose did not fly well. 

Zeno, the famous Bishop of Constantia, 
who had the largest diocese in that country, 
was a weaver. He directed his attention 
to habits both of soul and body. 

Stephen Tudiner, a hatter in upper Aus- 
tria, was made general, and commanded an 
army of sixty thousand. He made hats for 
others, but preferred for himself a chapeau. 

Walmer, a shoemaker, succeeded him in 
command, but was slain by Count Papen- 
heim. He converted his awl into a sword ; 
" his last state was worse than the first." 

Mr. Edmund, of Sterling, in Scotland, 
showed such unparallelled bravery in the 
Sweedish wars, under that " thunderbolt of 
war, Gustavus Adolphus," that he was 



86 young man's gift. 

made a general. A maker of bread might 
be supposed to know how to rise. 

Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia, 
worked at ship-building. He learned the 
Russian Bear how to manage a boat. 

Charles II., of England, was a turner of 
ivory, nor could the affairs of state divert 
hiin from his morning task at the lathe. He 
turned his mind, however, to other amuse- 
ments, which tasked his health, and pared 
away his reputation. 

Louis XIV., of France, was one of the 
best watchmakers of his reign. He forgot 
the burdens of power, in following the light 
footsteps of time, and escaped the flutter- 
ings of parasites, on the pinions of chro- 
nometers. 

William IV., of England, was a sailor, 
and rose from the forecastle to the throne. 
He managed the ship of State with nauti- 
cal address, and beat her a considerable 
way up the harbor of Reform. 

Benjamin Franklin was printer, philoso- 
pher, and statesman. He drew lightnings 



ILLUSTRIOUS MECHANICS. 87 

from heaven, and left his name in large 
caps upon the annals of his country. 

George Washington, Andrew Jackson, 
and William Henry Harrison, were farm- 
ers. From the pursuit of agriculture, they 
went forth to pursue the enemies of their 
country, and from the fields of death gath- 
ered the " Golden Immortal. " 

Sir Richard Arkwright, who first con- 
ceived the idea of spinning cotton by means 
of machinery, passed the earlier years of 
his life in pursuing the humble occupation 
of a barber. His genius proved brighter 
than his razors. 

John Leslie, professor of natural philoso- 
phy, in Edinburg, was the son of a poor 
farmer in Largo, Scotland. He was 
employed in the capacity of a herdsman. 
His pencil was a stick, and the ground his 
slate. From being the companion of cattle, 
he became the peer of learned men. 

William Gifford w r as bound out to a shoe- 
maker, after having served a number of 
years as cabin boy. Being too poor to 



88 young man's gift. 

purchase stationery, he used to hammer out 
as smoothly as possible, small bits of leather, 
on which he traced problems with his awl. 
In latter years, his critical awl pierced the 
souls of many luckless scribblers. 



THE CLAIMS OF SCIENCE UPON 
YOUNG MEN. 

SCIENCE has a powerful claim upon the 
attention of young men, from the benefit 
it has conferred, and is yet capable of con- 
ferring, upon society. If the Gospel be 
the best gift of Heaven to men, signalized 
from all other gifts by the infinite precious- 
ness of its benefits, and the unspeakable 
love of which these are the proof and the 
fruit, science is also eminently distinguished 
by its character of beneficence. It is to 
things of time w T hat religion is to things of 
eternity. It bears pleasant fruit wherever 
it has taken root and grown. If it is not 
the prime instrument of civilization (for this 



CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ON YOUNG MEN. 89 

honor, too, must be awarded to the Gospel,) 
it at least advances its character, increases 
its resources, and confers some of the most 
precious benefits which men possess. Sci- 
ence has opened up all seas to our ships, 
and all lands to our commerce. It has 
prevailed against winds and tides, and 
marked out for us a distinct pathway over 
the pathless ocean. It has brought to- 
gether the opposite ends of the earth, and 
brought to our homes all the varied pro- 
ducts of every various clime. Science 
spreads our tables for us, and furnishes us 
with clothing. It has increased our capac- 
ities of motion, and promises to bring us yet 
greater benefits in the time to come. 

For who will say that science has reached 
its limits, that no further progress is to be 
made, and no better fruit reaped from it ? 
Such a conclusion would be alike unwar- 
ranted by the experience of the past, and 
by the nature of science itself. The dis- 
coveries most fraught with blessings to man 
are all comparatively of recent origin, and 



90 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

almost every day is adding to their number. 
The face of society has been almost entirely 
changed by them within the memory of an 
existing generation. It is not long since 
the first steam-ship was launched, and we 
arc every day learning more of the count- 
less variety of ways in which the power of 
steam may be made available to the use 
and the comfort of man ; and even con- 
templating what we have already acquired, 
who is there who would not account James 
Watt one of the most generous benefactors 
of our race ? " Who is there that would 
not wish to possess a fame as wide-spread 
and as deserved as his ? But surely such 
discoveries as his are not beyond the reach 
of possibility. They are not beyond the 
reach of the humblest disciple of science ; 
and it ought to give an impulse to your 
minds to know this fact, to labor in the 
hope that even you may be rewarded 
by some discovery which shall not only 
gain for you an imperishable renown, but 



CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ON YOUNG MEN. 91 

which shall crown all posterity with man- 
ifold benefits. The laurel of the con- 
queror is stained with blood, and his path 
marked by desolation. The conquests of 
the man of science are more honorable and 
more pure. His path is like the fertilizing 
river, which covers the earth with riches, 
and adorns it with beauty. Why not enter 
upon and prosecute this path ? 

Science has its special claims upon the 
Christian youth, because of the position to 
which it elevates the possessor of it. The 
ignorant Christian incurs the contempt of 
the world. He incurs such contempt, it is 
true, most unjustly, for he who knows his 
Bible, and is walking in the light of its 
truth, is in reality in possession of a higher 
philosophy than the proud infidel who 
despises him. At the same time, it is im- 
portant to take the argument from the infi- 
del, that the Christian believes his Bible 
because he is the victim of a blind supersti- 
tion, and is ignorant of that which wise men 
ought to know. The cultivation of science 



92 YOUNG man's gift. 

would produce this result, and might oper- 
ate most beneficially in securing for Chris- 
tianity the respect of the world, and 
possibly in inducing them to believe and 
embrace it. The Apostle Paul, when 
addressing the learned audience who as- 
sembled to hear him at Athens, did not 
disdain to commend himself to them by 
displaying his knowledge of their literature. 
We find him, in his brief discourse, quoting 
from their own poets, and showing that he 
was not a believer in the Gospel because he 
was ignorant of every other subject. And 
doubtless there was wisdom in seeking to 
commend his doctrine in this way to a 
learned and contemptuous people, who re- 
garded all men besides themselves as bar- 
barians. And in the history of the church, 
Christianity has certainly lost nothing, but 
may have gained much, through the scien- 
tific acquirements of those who have pro- 
fessed it. It is a felt advantage to the 
cause of Christianity that we have the 
name of Sir Isaac Newton on its side. 



CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ON YOUNG MEN. 93 

This fact helps to commend the study of it 
to those who have become vain in their 
foolish philosophy. It has put to silence 
many an objection, and demonstrated that 
our holy faith is capable of securing the 
cordial assent of the greatest and most 
powerful minds which adorn the annals of 
philosophy. On the other hand, it is far 
from desirable that science should be 
allowed to remain as the exclusive posses- 
sion of the enemies of religion, and that 
the acquisitions of men in secular knowl- 
edge should be unsanctified. How much 
better were our Christian men also our sci- 
entific men — that those who are the direc- 
ors of the world's mind should also be 
lights in the firmament of religion. Nor, 
in the common intercourse of life, is it with 
out obvious and eminent advantage that the 
Christian youth shall be in a position in 
which, however much the scorner may 
mock his piety, he may stand forth as his 
equal or superior in all intellectual acquire- 
ments. He should not be exposed to the 



94 YOUNG man's gift. 

charge of being weak-minded and ignorant. 
And the Christian youth should be stimu- 
lated to avoid the charge, not only because 
it is disgraceful to underlie it, but because 
his liability to it will deservedly make his 
Christianity itself less influential and ef- 
fective for good. 

I have anticipated much of what might 
have been said regarding the way in which 
the study of science should be regulated. 
I shall only now make the following brief 
observations : — 

1. Those who are engaged in business 
and have a calling to attend to, should take 
care not to let their study of science inter- 
fere with that calling. Of most of young 
men it is true that their time has been lent 
to their employers, and it would obviously 
be sinful in them to neglect the business 
intrusted to them, even for such a praise- 
worthy object as the study of science. If 
the study of science be commenced and pro- 
secuted under a violation of a plain moral 
duty, it can lead to no beneficial issue, and 



CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ON YOUNG MEN. 95 

it were better to abandon it altogether. 
But while young men ought to do their 
employers' work, it were well also that the 
employers should not be so exacting in their 
demands, as to preclude young men from 
the possibility of prosecuting any kind of 
study with success. 

2. Let not science take precedence of 
religion. This were to alter the proper 
relations of things. The most important 
should be first. Science is fitted to become 
the handmaid of religion. It is destructive 
to both when science takes the place and 
the authority of a mistress. 

3. The study of science is to be prose- 
cuted with a humble mind. Humility is 
the foundation of greatness both in science 
and religion. Pride is ruinous to both. It 
was the humility of Newton which consti- 
tuted his greatest glory. He felt himself 
as a u child gathering shells beside the 
great ocean of truth." And if, with his 
mighty acquisitions, he could sincerely ex- 
perience and give utterance to such a feel- 



96 young man's gift. 

ing, how much more is it becoming in those 
who can scarcely yet be said to have begun 
to gather the shells, but who have been 
merely hearing the sound of the mighty 
billows of the ocean ! He who has begun 
to entertain the conceit that he knows some- 
thing, would do well to retrace his steps, 
and become persuaded that he knoweth 
nothing yet as he ought to know. 



THE MORNING. 

The sweetness of the morning is perhaps 
its least charm. It is the renewed vigor it 
implants in all around that affects us — man, 
animals, birds, plants, vegetation, flowers. 
Refreshed and soothed with sleep, man 
opens his heart ; he is alive to nature and 
nature's God, and his mind is more intelli- 
gent, because more fresh. He seems to 
drink of the dew like the flowers, and feels 
the same reviving effect. 



LOVE OF GOD. 97 



LOVE OF GOD. 

' God is love.' All his perfections and 
procedures are but so many modifications of 
his love. What is his omnipotence but the 
arm of his love ? What his omniscience 
but the medium through which he contem- 
plates the objects of his love ? What his 
wisdom but the scheme of his love ? What 
are the offers of the gospel but the invitations 
of his love ? What the threatenings of the 
law but the warnings of his love ? They 
are the hoarse voice of his love, saying, 
' Man ! do thyself no harm.' They are a 
fence thrown round the pit of perdition to 
prevent rash men from rushing into ruin. 
What was the incarnation of the Saviour 
but the richest illustration of his love ? 
What were the miracles of Christ but the 
condescension of his love ? WTiat were the 
sighs of Christ but the breath of his love ? 
What were the prayers of Christ but the 
pleadings of his love ? What were the 



98 YOUNG man's gift. 

tears of Christ but the dew-drops of his love ? 
What is heaven but the Alps of his mercy, 
from whose summits his blessings, flowing 
down in a thousand streams, descend to 
water and refresh his church situated at 
its base ? 



CHARACTER. 

Men are to be estimated, as Johnson 
says, by the mass of their character. A 
block of tin may have a grain of silver, 
but still it is tin, and a block of silver may 
have an alloy of tin, but still it is silver. 
The mass of Elijah's character was excel- 
lence, yet he was not without alloy. The 
mass of Jehu's character was base, yet he 
had a portion of zeal which was directed by 
God's great ends. Bad men are made the 
same use of as scaffolds : they are employed 
as means to erect a building, and then taken 
down and destroyed. 



SUNRISE. 99 



SUNRISE. 

How beautiful the scene ! pen cannot 
paint, nor eye that has not seen imagine, the 
splendor of this morn. On one side, piles 
of rich crimson clouds recline upon a bed of 
brilliant purple ; on the other, the sky, of 
the most delicate blue that ever canopied 
the heavens, is shaded with a delicate pink ; 
while splendid arches, in form like heaven's 
own radiant bow, but glowing with a vivid 
rosy tint, seem to encircle earth and sky. 
Two lovely stars, though rendered paler by 
the glare around, shine like diamonds in the 
azure sky. From yonder meads a silver 
mist ascends, veiling, not concealing, the 
radiant turf, as if earth offered her morning 
incense to her Maker ; while the gentle 
robin pours forth a strain, so sweet, so clear, 
as though the beauty of the scene gladdened 
his little heart, and bade him sing his matin 
hymn in louder tones. Look where you 
may on Nature's face, the hand of her Crea- 



100 rouNG man's gift. 

tor is easily descried ; seen mid the glories 
of the breaking morn, visible when the shades 
of eve encircle earth and sky ; and seen, 
ah ! clearly seen, amid the splendor of the 
storm, when the thunder's roar proclaims 
his power ; and the lightening' s flash, that 
comes we know not whence, lighting for a 
moment earth and heaven, then flies we 
know not whither, speaks in plain language 
an Almighty Maker. 



MENTAL CULTIVATION. 

What stubbing, ploughing, digging, and 
harrowing are to land, thinking, reflecting, 
and examining are to the mind. Each has 
its proper culture ; and as the land that is 
suffered to lie waste and w T ild for a long time 
will be overspread with brushwood, bram- 
bles, thorns, and such vegetables, which have 
neither youth nor beauty, so there will not 
fail to sprout up in a neglected mind a great 
many prejudices and absurd opinions, which 



MAN IMPROVABLE. 101 

owe their origin partly to the soil itself, the 
passions and imperfections of the mind of 
man, and partly to those seeds which chance 
to be scattered in it by every wind of doc- 
trine which the cunning of statesmen, the 
singularity of pedants, and the superstition 
of fools shall raise. 



MAN IMPROVABLE. 

The Eden of human nature has indeed 
long ago been rudely trampled down and 
desolated ; storms w T aste it continually ; 
nevertheless the soil is rich with the germs 
of its pristine beauty ; all the colors of 
Paradise are sleeping in the clods : and a 
little favor, a little protection, a little cul- 
ture, shall show what was once there. 



THE HYPOCRITE. 

He is the blot of goodness, a rotten stick 
in a dark night, the poppy in a cornfield, 



102 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

an ill tempered candle with a great snuff 
that in going out smells ill ; an angel abroad, 
a devil at home, and worse when an angel, 
than when a devil. 



OUR LOST TIME. 

Lost wealth may be restored by industry, 
the wreck of health regained by temperance, 
forgotten knowledge restored by study, 
alienated friendship smoothed into forgetful- 
ness, even forfeited reputation may be won 
back by penitence and virtue — but who 
ever again looked upon his vanished hours, 
recalled his slighted years, stamped them 
with wisdom, or effaced from Heaven's 
record the fearful blot of wasted time ? 



EELIGIOUS GEMS. 

Importance of Assurance. i It is one 
main point of happiness, that he who is 
happy, doth know and judge himself to be 
so.' Leighton. 



KELIGIOUS GEMS. 103 

' Make us sit together in heavenly places.' 9 
' The believing soul is not only a debtor 
acquitted and set free, but enriched besides 
with a new and great estate ; and withal, 
highly preferred and advanced to honor, 
having a right to the promises, ' to the un- 
searchable riches of Christ,' as the apostle 
speaks, and is recievedinto favor with God, 
and unto the dignity of Sonship, taken 
' from the dunghill and set with princes.' 

Ibid. 

i Keep thine heart ivith all diligence? — 
' Men are less sensible of heart wickedness, 
than of open sin ; they do not seem to know 
that the motion of spirits is far swifter than 
that of bodies. The mind can make a 
greater progress in wandering from God, 
in one hour, than the body is able to follow 
in many days.' Ibid. 

c The quickening Spirit.? Though Christ 
be the Head, yet is the Holy Ghost the 
Heart of the Church, from whence the vital 
spirits of grace and holiness are issued out 
unto the quickening of the body mystical.' 



104 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

The eye, the ear, and the tongue. i The 
car and the eye are the mind's receivers, 
but the tongue is only busied in extending 
the treasure received. If therefore, the 
resources of the mind be uttered as fast or 
faster than they are received, it cannot be 
but the mind must needs be bare, and can 
never lay up for purchase. But if the 
receivers take in still with no utterance, the 
mind may soon grow a burden to itself, and 
unprofitable to others. I will not lay up 
too much and utter nothing, lest I be cove- 
tous ; nor spend much and store up little, 
lest I be prodigal and poor.' -Bishop Hall. 

What we learn from the dying thief. — 
; None should despair, because God can 
help them. None should presume, because 
God can cross them.' Philip Henry. 

' Oat of the abundance of the heart, the 
mouth speaJceth.' ' In religion, as in secu- 
lar knowledge, he is the best teacher of 
others, who is best taught himself. That 
which we know and love, we cannot but 



RELIGIOUS GEMS. 105 

communicate ; that which we know and do 
not love, we soon, I think, cease to know/ 

Do all unto the Lord. c It is the motive 
and end of an action which makes it either 
dignified or pure.' — Woman's Mission. 

' Let Christ reign in your hetrts.' ' De- 
sire not the company which would diminish 
your heavenly acquaintance and correspon- 
dence. Be not unfriendly nor self-sufficient 
and self-confident ; but beware, lest under 
the ingenious title of a friend, you should 
entertain an idol, or an enemy to your love 
of God, or a competitor with your highest 
and best friend. — Baxter. 

6 Having a desire to depart? c The re- 
ligion of Jesus Christ, felt and enjoyed in 
the heart, can alone make a man ivilling to 
die. Hence it became not so much Paul's 
painful debt, as his cheerful vote ; he does 
not say, ' I must depart,' but ' I desire to 
depart.' — Rev. James Sherman. 

Christ makes heaven. 6 1 will show thee 
all the glory of Greece, said an ancient to 
7 



10G YOUNG MAN ? S GIFT. 

his friend ; and so saying, he took him to 
Solon, the Spartan lawgiver. And is this 
all ? said his friend. Yes, replied the an- 
cient, when thou hast seen Solon, thou hast 
seen all. And so when the saints see Christ, 
they see all the glory of heaven in Him ; 
'the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne, 
is the light thereof! What must it be to 
see his glory !' — Rev. James Sherman. 



STICK TO YOUR OWN BUSINESS. 

Let speculators make their thousands in 
a year or a day ; mind your own regular 
trade, never turning from it to the right 
hand or the left. If you are a merchant, a 
professional man, or a mechanic, never buy 
lots or stocks, unless you have surplus money 
w r hich you wish to invest. Your own busi- 
ness you understand as well as other men ; 
but other people's business you do not under- 
stand. Let your own business be one which 
is good for the community. All occupations 
possess the elements of profit in themselves, 
while mere speculation has no such element. 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 107 

THE BELLE OF COTTAGE YALE, 

OR 

THE WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 

CAHPTER I. 

" Her looks were looks of melody, 
Her voice was like the swell 
Of sudden music, notes of mirth, 
Which of wild gladness tell." 

It was a mild and lovely day in the early 
part of October, that two young men, ap- 
parently about the same age, though of ex- 
tremely different organizations, sat together 
in their studio, the one engaged in finishing 
the portrait of a beautiful young lady, while 
the other was deeply absorbed in perusing 
a work upon intellectual culture. The 
countenance of one wore upon it a mirthful 
and trifling air, while upon the other the 
candid and decisive look predominated. 
Indeed the Metoposcopist could hardly have 
selected two so totally diiferent in charac- 



108 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

ter, the indices of which were more plainly 
written upon their faces. 

The skill with which the artist applied 
the color to the canvass before him, bore 
evidence of his aptness for, and thorough 
knowledge of his profession. Devoted en- 
tirely to his work, and more wrapt up in it 
if possible than was his companion in his 
study, he presented the appearance of a 
bird spell bound to the spot by some beauty 
which had caught its eye. The picture 
over which he was engaged, was one that 
might well have chained a person of less ar- 
dent temperament than his to the canvass 
before him, and yet every touch of his 
crayon seemed to add new beauty to the 
already charming work. The marble brow, 
the soft blue eye, the ruby lips which scarce 
concealed the pearly teeth beneath, the 
dimpled chin, and cheeks upon which the 
lily and rose together united in harmony, 
surrounded by the hanging curls of raven 
dye, together with the beautifully carved 
neck and rounded shoulders, gave a beauty 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 109 

to the whole, which is rarely if ever sur- 
passed. 

After touching and retouching the picture 
before him, here giving it light, and there 
casting a shade, until the finishing stroke 
w r as made, he exclaimed, — " Heavens, what 
a beauty ! Earth were a paradise with such 
as thee, and without thee, heaven were 
wanting its most precious boon !" 

Removing it to a remote part of the room 
where the light fell upon it most favorably, 
and calling the attention of his companion 
to it, he said, an arch smile resting upon 
his countenance, — "What more could I 
have done unto my vineyard, that I have 
not already done ?" 

" I think," replied he to whom this was 
addressed, " that a portion of your extrava- 
gance in language, and fanciful feeling, 
might as well be dispensed with now, as to 
humor their longer delay." 

" But friend Romeo," replied the artist, 
" You are as insensible to the beauties of 
that work as though it were but an every 



110 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

day occurrence. Few are honored with a 
" sitting " from so perfect a beauty as is 
there pictured forth to your gaze, and I can 
assure you that the beauties of the canvass 
can never surpass those of the original." 

" Doubtless there are few, friend Zelotte," 
said Romeo, " who can boast a greater pro- 
fusion of nature's bounties, than she whom 
you have had the honor of copying upon the 
canvass before you. Rut the outward form, 
be it attractive or repulsive, has nought to 
do with the beauties of mind ; and he who 
becomes a slave to those charms, will rue 
the day that gave him birth. It were bet- 
ter that like the hermit, he had lived se- 
cluded in the deep recesses of some hidden 
cave, than that he had ever become a dupe 
to the possessor of those winning smiles." 

" Ah friend Romeo" said Zelotte, " the 
extravagance of language is " upon the 
other side of the house," to use a parliamen- 
tary expression. Remember that charity 
begins at home, and when you shall have 
laid aside all tropes and figures, then may 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. Ill 

you censure others for committing this er- 
ror, yourself being innocent. But know 
you ought of whom you speak ?" 

"Nay," replied he, "farther than the 
science of Phrenology, in which I am a firm 
believer, teaches me of her character." 

" And hast thou faith to trust to that, in 
a matter so important as this ? It will 
serve as a subject to spout upon in public 
assemblies, and furnish mirth and jollity to 
audiences of weak and foolish minds ; but 
where the grave and thoughtful subject of 
deciding upon character is excited, away 
with such superstition and folly. For my 
part, I would as soon choose the chart of a 
person's character which was given after 
feeling the irregularities of any other part 
of the body, as that founded upon the skull. 
Neither can be of use, and therefore are 
alike foolish whims, indulged by a class of 
weak minded beings, among which friend 
Romeo, I am extremely sorry to find your- 
self." 

" Time is the only proof-sheet which vir- 



112 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

tue can have," said his companion, " and 
upon this rests the proof of the science in 
which I believe. You will pursue a course 
totally different from myself in regard to 
this subject, and time alone must disclose 
the truth of the assertions which I have 
made. But so confident am I in the truth 
of this doctrine, that had I my choice in the 
two means of deciding upon the merits of a 
companion, — the cultivation of her acquaint- 
ance for the space of ten years , or a Phren- 
ological chart of her character, — I would 
by all means choose the latter. For, pos- 
sessing a large share of secretiveness, she 
might withhold from me that which might be 
of use to me in deciding the question, and 
which the science of Phrenology would im- 
mediately detect and hold up to view. And 
let me beg of you that you will inform me 
of the truth of my prediction, though many 
years may elapse ere I shall prove the sci- 
ence by a practical application of it myself." 
The two companions separated, and a 
short time subsequent to the conversation 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 113 

above alluded to, Romeo was called to sep- 
arate, perhaps forever, from his associates 
in the Bay State, and return again to the 
South, from whence he had been sent to 
gain an education in a section of country- 
less abounding with aristocracy and pride, 
than his native home. 

Months and years flew by, and nothing 
of consequence transpired worthy the pen 
of the historian. Nothing was received by 
Romeo from his friend at the North, and 
he had given over the idea of ever again 
receiving intelligence from him. Death, 
perchance, might have taken him from this 
sorrowing world, and borne him hence to 
dwell in a brighter and happier home. 
Romeo had become engaged in the cares of 
business, and had arisen to a point in the 
ascent to wealth, than which few could 
boast a greater. Too much care for the 
dross of this earth had become infused into 
his mind, and he still lived on, a single ?nan, 
and a firm believer in the " bachelor's 
choice." 



114 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT, 

In the village in which he resided, there 
dwelt a maiden of some five and twenty 
summers, whose outward beauties were any- 
thing but such as the eye of fancy would 
have chosen for its retreat, but like the dia- 
mond encased in some baser metal, being 
none the less valuable therefrom, so her 
mind hidden beneath this modest and unas- 
suming exterior, was none the less worthy 
of admiration and praise. From infancy 
she had been subjected to the tyranny of a 
mother-in-law, who was any thing but a pat- 
tern for others, in her mode of treatment to 
the tender beings under her care. Until 
she became capable of reasoning and acting 
for herself, she submitted to the abuses, 
heaped upon her, by her so called mother, 
without a murmur. Being of not prepos- 
sessing appearance, and lacking the confi- 
dence of many of her sex, she was passed 
by, by the multitude, for one of a more 
pleasing exterior. But beneath this out- 
ward form, there lay hidden a germ, which 
needed but the genial warmth of love to ex- 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 115 

pand and create a new life within, and cause 
to be shed abroad an influence which years 
could not efface. This the science in which 
Romeo was skilled, quickly perceived, and 
taking advantage of this opportunity, he se- 
lected her as a choice flower from among 
the many, and she whose mind was formed 
so nearly akin to his, became his faithful 
and devoted wife . 

Like a monument rudely broken, is man 
in his single state, and while searching for 
the opposite half, how often does he connect 
himself with one in nowise his equal, forget- 
ting that the beauty of the monument con- 
sists in the nicety with which the opposite 
half is fitted thereon, and making the holy 
institution of marriage, an ordinance at once 
imperfect and repulsive. How many do we 
see thus unevenly yoked together, and how 
few comparatively, would there be, if a 
proper course were taken to ascertain the 
merits of each previous to marriage, saving 
themselves thereby the mortification of learn- 



116 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

ing when too late to remedy the evil, that 
they were not fit subjects for unity. 

One joyful pledge of affection has blessed 
the union of Romeo and Kate, and as their 
little daughter carols day by day around 
her sunny home, the affections of her pa- 
rents are more closely woven around her, 
and although the husband and father is con- 
sulted as to the most discreet and efficacious 
mode of correcting and subduing her child- 
ish propensity to evil, he universally yields 
to her who has learned wisdom in the school 
of experience, being, a Wife, Mother, and 
D lughti /■-/"/'- 1 a 

Years roll by, and time with his ever re- 
volving wheels, marks upon all a slow and 
sure decay. The happy pair now fast ap- 
proaching the gloomy shades of eternity, 
their hearts firmly united to each other, 
sharing each other's cares, and multiplying 
each other's joys, look up to their daughter 
as their comfort and support, blessing the 
Giver of all, for this solace in the evening 
of their existence. 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 117 

Educated as she was under the care of 
pious and affectionate parents, to whom the 
true worth and weight of words were known, 
she was in nowise possessed of a spirit of 
flattery, nor was she pleased when made 
the subject of it. Of a refined nature and 
amiable disposition, she won the affections 
of all around, and none had ought to com- 
plain of her having broken the golden rule. 
She holds fast to the principles inculcated 
by her parents upon the subject of mar- 
riage, and is a firm advocate of the science 
in which her father trusted, and which has 
been the means of enhancing to such an ex- 
tent, the bliss of all concerned. A more 
liberal statute however, making the weaker 
vessel equal with the stronger, is the point 
at which she aims, and for which she toils 
with her whole soul. That she may suc- 
ceed in her undertaking, and be rewarded 
by seeing her principles received by out- 
stretched arms and open hearts, is the sin- 
cere wish of the author. Although as yet 
she remains a standing monument, incom- 



118 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

plete in the sight of the world, for want of a 
companion, yet a belief in the general diffu- 
sion of knowledge upon this all important 
subject, leaves not the shadow of a doubt in 
the minds of her parents, that her merits 
will be appreciated, and that supreme hap- 
piness is the destiny of their much loved 
daughter. 

And now kind and gentle reader, in view 
of this happy union, and the manner in 
which it was effected, it remains for you to 
decide whether it be a safe criterion to ac- 
tion. Study well this all important subject, 
and decide as reason and conscience dic- 
tate. It is upoiv you j that the effect for 
weal or for woe is to be produced, and to 
you will the generations following, look up 
for example. Prove yourself worthy of be- 
ing considered as such. But to those who 
are as yet unsatisfied with the proof given 
them, I must beg leave to say, that I shall 
follow out the life of the artist whose fancy 
overpowered his intellect, and show by rea- 
soning not to be refuted, the advantage of a 
Wife of Intellect. 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 119 



CHAPTER II. 

" In deeds of charity thy soul delights ; 

In mercy, justice, and in human rights j 

The weak appeal to thee for just redress, 

The sorrowing throng thy path to praise and bless." 

la the western portion of a quiet little 
village, where the warm and sunny breezes 
of the south sweep gently past, fanning the 
weary laborer to repose, is situated a beau- 
tiful and romantic lake, known still by the 
original Indian name of Hoccomocco. The 
bold and picturesque masses of granite, from 
which arise the tall and almost leafless pines, 
sweeping as it were the vault of heaven, the 
calmness of its deep blue waters, and the 
innumerable birds which dwell within the 
forest which skirts its shores, all serve to 
make it in point of romantic beauty and 
loveliness, unsurpassed. Upon the shores 
of this lake the Indian was wont to offer up 
his sacrifice to his invisible master , and here 
too, the flames have often curled around the 
form of the warrior, doomed to the horrible 



120 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

death of the stake. At its southern ex- 
tremity is an outlet, which, as it flows on- 
ward toward the mighty ocean, gathering 
strength in its course until it becomes a 
proud and majestic river, plunges headlong 
over a mighty precipice, forming a cataract 
of great beauty ; and though unnoticed 
upon the records of fame, it is deserving a 
passing notice from the traveller. Upon 
the river just above the fall, is situated a 
small and somewhat secluded village sur- 
rounded by a thickly-wooded forest, making 
it a very desirable retreat from the sultry 
heat of a summer sky. A few humble cot- 
tages, together with an inn, kept open dur- 
ing the summer months only, during which 
time it was well patronised — made up the 
entire village at the period of which we now 
write. 

It was a lovely morning in the early part 
of June, when the song of birds and the 
sweet perfume of flowers gave to the scen- 
ery about lake Hoccomocco, a new-born 
charm, that the data of this story is fixed. 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 121 

The waters as ever, rushed madly on toward 
the fall, throwing themselves upon the rocks 
below, seemingly striving to dash the ada- 
mantine substance to atoms, while its deaf- 
ening roar was borne along upon the passing 
breeze to the distance of many miles ; the 
spray arising from the falling mass, forming 
in the rays of the sun a most beautiful rain- 
bow. Above the fall, at a distance suffi- 
cient to render danger impossible, were nu- 
merous little crafts containing parties, who 
for pleasure, had chosen an excursion upon 
the smooth and glassy river. There were 
the husband and the wife, the parent and 
the child, the lover and his sweet-heart, the 
grey-headed and the careless youth, all in 
one joyous mood, seeking pleasure in the 
beauties and grandeur of the scene. In one 
of the boats, a tiny thing, was seated an old 
man whose silvered head and wrinkled brow 
told plainly of many a year spent in buffet- 
ing the adverse waves of fortune, and by 
his side was his daughter, pointing out to 
him the beauties of the scene, as she sketch- 
8 



122 young man's gift. 

ed them upon the paper which lay spread 
out before her. The stream, though appa- 
rently still, moves on with a deceitful pace, 
bearing along with it the boat and its uncon- 
cious inmates. Upon the shore are stand- 
ing two young men watching the progress 
of the boat with acute anxiety ! They re- 
alise the danger of those thoughtless beings 
who are now so wrapt up in the beauties of 
the surrounding scene as to be unaware 
of the danger which stares them in the face, 
and which must prove fatal, if suffered to 
progress with the rapidity which now marks 
its career. In vain they shout the alarm ! 
The deafening roar of the elements drown all 
their cries, and in painful suspense they are 
compelled to await the issue ! At last the 
inmates of the boat perceive their danger, 
and put forth every effort to stop their pro- 
gress. But, alas ! all is in vain. The eyes 
of all are now turned to the scene which 
must so soon terminate in death. Finding 
all efforts unavailing to lessen their onward 
progress, they resign themselves to their 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 123 

fate, and in silent prayer await its decree 
concerning them. One moment more and 
a young man is seen making his way 
to the shore. Placing the end of a rope 
in the hands of those on shore, and mak- 
ing the other fast to his body, he plunges 
into the stream and swims toward the 
boat which is now fast approaching the fall. 
He struggles hard with the waves, and when 
within a short distance from the boat, he 
sinks beneath them ! but it is for a moment 
only. He again rises to the surface, and 
with one almost superhuman stroke, forces 
himself within reach of the boat, and grap- 
pling with it, her headway is checked. She 
swings round upon the very edge of the fall, 
and all are safe ! By means of the rope 
they are slowly drawn toward the shore, 
and in a few minutes, the voyagers, who so 
recently were in imminent peril of their 
lives, step from their frail barque and are 
once more on terra firma. 

All crowd around to behold those who 
have escaped a most horrible death through 



124 young man's gift. 

the daring conduct of another ; and their sa- 
vior is looked upon as one on whom some 
special mission had been sworn, and the epi- 
thets showered upon him, showed how highly 
his conduct was esteemed. But all the praise 
of that crowd of beholders fell far short of giv- 
ing him that satisfaction which he felt, when 
his eyes met hers, whom he had saved ! 
The look of gratitude, which beamed forth 
from her mild blue eye, amply repaid him 
for his exertions in her behalf. 

After the excitement had in a measure 
subsided, the old gentleman, turning to his 
daughter said, — " to whom do we owe our 
lives Estelle 2 We should be ungrateful in- 
deed, did we forget him, who has risked his 
life to save those of strangers ?" 

" That is he," said she, pointing to him, 
whom she had been regarding with a look 
which bespoke the depth of feeling which 
she cherished for him. " But how can we 
suitably reward him ? The action has saved 
us from death, and how deeply should we 
feel our indebtedness to him." 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 125 

" I know of no way, dear Estelle," said 
her father, " in which we can so suitably 
show our reverence for one who has risked 
his life for ours, than to tender him our 
most heartfelt thanks. Pecuniary offerings 
are of no avail in a case like this, and 
although thousands are at his command if 
he will, yet I will not attempt to curb his 
noble spirit by offering him gold." 

" I need no other remuneration kind sir " 
said the stranger, " than the thought, that 
I have saved two fellow beings from a wa- 
tery grave ; and with regard to lucrative 
compensation, the smiles of joy and looks of 
gratitude which beam forth from the eyes of 
her whom you call daughter, and who to 
you must, as such, be bound by the most 
endearing ties, render gold incapable of a 
single charm." 

" He eulogises your charms Estelle, in quite 
extravagant terms " said her father. "But" 
said he turning to the young man, " we 
cannot indulge this prolonged conversation 
in your present condition. Pray step to my 



126 rouNG man's gift. 

carriage, a few rods distant, and accompany 
me home, for a change of garments." 

" Yes " said Estelle, as she saw him 
about to reply, as she feared in the nega- 
tive, " yes, you must accompany us fori 
long to learn more of him who has taken 
this interest in our behalf." 

Whether this expression, uttered as it 
was with a winning smile and captivating 
air, had more than its proper weight of per- 
suasive power or not, is unknown, but sure it 
is, that he accepted the extended invitation ; 
and as she walked by his side, she regarded 
him with a vastly greater depth of feeling, 
than does a young lady generally regard 
her gallant, although his outward appear- 
ance was any thing but that which would 
inspire feelings of this nature. 

Arriving at the home of those whom he had 
rescued, our hero was shown into a dressing 
room where he divested himself of his now 
cumbersome clothing, and donned the morn- 
ing attire of a French nobleman. He was 
by no means an inferior looking young man, 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 127 

and now that he was arrayed in the garb of 
nobility, his appearance was none the less 
attractive. But the fact, that theindweller 
of a cottage, remote from that section of 
country where aristocracy and pride are 
more abundant, possessed such, was to him 
a mystery accounted for only by the suppo- 
sition of their French origin. He had be- 
come almost lost in his own thoughts, when 
suddenly remembering his situation, he cast 
a hurried look into a mirror which was so 
extensive as to show at a glance his entire 
person, and entering the parlor took a seat 
near a table upon which lay numerous choice 
volumes, an indispensable to this appartment 
in the mansions of the elite and tallented of 
our community. A few moments more, dur- 
ing which time he busied himself by play- 
fully turning over the leaves of a choice an- 
nual, and the old gentleman entered, fol- 
lowed by his daughter, upon whose cheeks — 

In luxury reposed, 
The richest tints of light and shade, 
The lily and the rose. 



128 young man's gift. 

"Allow me, kind sir," said he approach- 
ing our hero, u to inquire your address, 
which is as yet unknown to me." 

" Certainly sir," said he " my name is 
Zelotte Banvard." 

" Mr. Banvard," continued the old gen- 
tleman, " allow me to present to you my 
daughter, Miss Estelle Mignault ; with the 
hope that she, by proving a friend in time of 
trouble, if such ever fall to your lot, may 
repay in a measure your care for us." 

Our hero arose and received the delicate 
white hand extended for his acceptance, 
which he pressed with warmth, for language 
refused him assistance in this act. Perceiv- 
ing his embarrassment she said — 

" Mr. Banvard, I shall be most happy to 
cultivate the acquaintance of one who has 
so thoroughly proved himself a gentleman." 

" Thank you," said Zelotte, somewhat 
recovered from his embarrassment, whatever 
might have been the sacrifice, I have been 
fully repaid, and beg that no further allu- 
sions to my heroic conduct be made." 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 129 

After some time had been spent in con- 
versing upon the interesting topics of the 
day, Capt. Mignault retired for a few mo- 
ments to attend to some domestic affairs, 
leaving Zelotte and Estelle together in the 
room. It is at such a time as this, that Cu- 
pid with an unerring aim shoots forth his 
feathered darts in the glances which are ex- 
changed between two loving beings, and so 
it was with Zelotte Banvard and Estelle 
Mignault. They had met under circum- 
stances which were calculated to inspire 
them, young and fanciful as they were, with 
feelings of a tender nature, and giving them- 
selves up to their influence, they were soon 
the slaves of each other, bound by the 
chains which they themselves had forged. 
Casting his eye about the room, he said, — 

" I perceive you have taxed the skill of 
some Parisian artist to its utmost extent. 
These works of art are rare specimens of 
the triumph of skill, and have cost many a 
weary hour to him who traced them upon 
the canvass." 



130 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

" Yes," said she with a smile, " I have 
spared no pains to procure such as would 
please, and can now boast a collection, I 
think I may safely say, unrivalled by any in 
this part of the world." 

" And among this collection I have the 
honor of being represented," said he point- 
ing to her portrait which hung directly 
over the mantle. 

" Is it possible ?" exclaimed Estelle. 

u It is true that to me is due the praise 
or censure of having traced that imperfect 
copy of your charms ; and although want- 
ing that heighth of finish which adorns its 
companions, yet the beauty of the design 
reclaims the whole from the tongue of the 
slanderer." 

The reader has doubtless, ere this, discov- 
ered that the person of Zelotte Banvard was 
none other than the youthful companion of 
Romeo, who was introduced in the preced- 
ing chapter. Upon this morning, the events 
of which have been described, he walked 
forth with another young gentleman to en- 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 131 

joy the morning air, and being attracted to 
the river by the numerous boats which 
floated upon its smooth surface, they linger- 
ed upon its banks, until, as the reader al- 
ready knows, he became the means of res- 
cuing Capt. Mignault and his daughter, 
from a watery grave. 

After spending a few hours at the cottage 
of Capt. M. , he arose and took his depart- 
ure ; not however without having received 
repeated invitations to visit them again, as 
often as choice should lead him ; an invita- 
tion, coming from the source which it did, 
which, be assured, he gladly accepted and 
promptly fulfilled. A short time elapsed 
after the first visit to the cottage, ere Zel- 
otte became the frequent guest of Estelle, 
the result of which, as the reader has doubt- 
less surmised, was marriage. Let us now 
draw the veil of obscurity over the two first 
years of their wedded life, which may be 
said to be its more happy period, and at its 
expiration again raise it, to view their pros- 
perity and happiness. 



132 YOUNG man's gift. 



CHAPTER III. 

Like snow that falls where waters glide, 

Earth's pleasures pass away ; 
They rest in times resistless tide, 

Yet Bcarce a moment stay. 

It was an evening transcendently beauti- 
ful, immediately preceding the great anniver- 
sary of American Independence. The surly 
clouds, which during the day had rolled 
themselves across the deep blue sky, hiding 
from the observer its beauties, now broke 
away, and the " Queen of night " reigned 
supreme. Her attendants, one by one 
peeped out, as darkness gathered over the 
face of the earth, and ere the deep toned 
bell had pealed forth the hour of nine, the 
heavens seemed one extensive bed of embers, 
sparkling, and striving to rival each other in 
brightness. A gentle breeze played among 
the sycamores, and in the distance the tune- 
ful nightengale sent forth her song, laden 
with the deep and stirring tones of love. 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 133 

The river, as it moved majestically onward 
toward the mighty ocean, was scarce heard 
to utter a murmur ; and as some of the my- 
riads of the finny tribe darted to its surface, 
disturbing its placidity, each dying ripple 

" Caught up a star in its embrace, 
And held it trembling there. " 

The hum of the bee had ceased, and the 
the jay bird no longer prated its noisy song, 
and all nature seemed wrapt in a deep and 
sweet repose. But to many who mingled 
in scenes of pleasure it was far different. 
The spacious hall, lighted up with its thou- 
sand tapers, whose dazzling rays streamed 
through the openings in the rich damask 
curtains ; the rich and enlivening tones of 
the harp and viol ; the sparkling claret, 
which ran as freely as water ; the gay belles, 
upon whose cheeks the rose in all its beauty 
and brightness sat enthroned ; the ease and 
grace with which those participating in the 
witching dance, tripped over the seemingly 
yielding floor, — all presented a scene which 



134 YOUNG man's gift. 

inspired the beholder with a feeling of mirth 
and gayety. But ah ! the monster jealousy 
was there, to mar the pleasures of the eve- 
ning. There were the lover and his sweet" 
heart ; the husband and the wife ; old and 
young, mingling together in pursuit of hap- 
piness, and among this assemblage were Ze- 
lotte and his Estelle. Time had rolled 
away two years of their wedded life, and 
this was the anniversary of that happy (?) 
event. To him every thing seemed made 
for the especial enjoyment of himself, and he 
immediately entered into the spirit of it in 
earnest. Weary of dancing, the numerous 
guests set about devising other means of 
amusement, and in short there was scarcely 
a play that is known at the present day, 
which did not find a place in their pro- 
gramme. 

The evening whiled away, and just as 
the grey dawn of morning appeared in the 
east the company dispersed, each retiring 
to their homes, some to muse over the 
scenes just passed, and others to seek re- 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 135 

pose from their evening revels. Breakfast 
hour arrived, and Zelotte and his wife met 
together in the room in which it was served. 
Upon her countenance there sat a frown 
which froze the keen and susceptible heart 
of her husband. She spoke only when ad- 
dressed, and in monosyllables with a short 
and fretful air. After the morning repast 
was finished, and a sufficient time had 
elapsed to render any little grievances for- 
gotten, Zelotte again sought out his Estelle, 
and seeing the same frowning look upon 
her countenance he said, — 

" Estelle, my dear, why is sunshine a 
stranger to thy countenance this morning ? 
Has ought transpired worthy that the 
brightness of thy smiles should be hidden 
beneath the surly clouds of anger and dis- 
dain ?" 

" Ask of the winds, upon whose wings 
the echo of those sweet kisses were borne 
away, which you last evening bestowed 
upon those dashing belles. Ask of them, if 
in view of your perfidy, I am to be cen- 



136 young man's gift. 

sured for detesting both actor and partici- 
pator !" was her quick reply. 

It is not the privilege of the author to 
dwell upon the scenes of discord and domes- 
tic strife, and we therefore refrain from por- 
traying the paroxysm of rage which ensued. 
The redeeming of a forfeit in a play upon 
the evening previous, had excited the power 
of jealousy, and nothing could quench its 
fire. The principle which on all cases of 
difficulty had governed him, forsook him not 
at this hour, and remembering that " to err 
is hum in, to forgive divine, " he forgot the 
anger of his wife, ail sought to regain his 
former standing in her affections. 

Alas, how short-sighted and erring are 
human beings. What an amount of pleas- 
ure presents itself to the mind, a3 we antic- 
pate that which is joyous, and seemingly just 
within our grasp ! How fondly do we dwell 
upon some favorite point, which we hope 
ere long to gain, and which now seems 
almost our own. But how few ever realize 
their expectations. The rose is cut down 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 137 

and its beauty fades. The stately oak is 
upturned by the blast which it defies, and 
its branches wither and die. Thus it is 
with the hopes and wishes of man. Their 
beauty fades, their power dies. Years roll 
past and we again turn our attention to the 
hero of our tale. Two darling children, a 
roguish boy and lovely girl, have blessed 
this union, — Agnes, the very picture of her 
mother, and Charles the second self of his 
father. Agnes, though just entering her 
" teens" was looked upon by the gallant 
young men with all the admiration of youth- 
ful fancy, w r hile Charles was a youth who 
bid fair with a proper mode of instruction 
and training, to excel in any avocation 
w T hich he might choose, and upon him his 
father bestowed his wealth at a lavish rate. 
Scarce a wish which he manifested was 
denied him, and to be disappointed in any 
of his purposes was an event yet to trans 
pire. 

Balls, dances, theatres, and such like 
places were their constant resorts, and indeed 



138 young man's gift. 

scarce an evening passed that they were 
not indulged with a visit to these hot-beds 
of vice. Young and imaginary as she was, 
Agnes plead with all the force which she 
possessed to have her wishes gratified, and 
her mother far from possessing foresight 
sufficient to read the baneful effects which 
it would produce upon her child, granted 
her slightest wish. If an objection was 
raised upon the part of the parent which 
the child refused to acknowledge, it was 
immediately dropped, and the child came off 
conqueror. This instability in the mother, 
and her susceptibility to be overcome by 
entreaty, made the daughter still the more 
importunate in her requests. Thus while 
thinking to appease her child in the best 
manner, she was only adding fuel to the fire 
which by proper management might have 
been subdued. * * 

Peree Moulton, was a handsome and with- 
all a witching young man, and although two 
years the senior of Agnes, he moved in the 
same circle with her. His superior abilities 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 139 

to appearance, over others of her acquaint- 
ance, won her admiration, and ere long, the 
feelings which at their dawning merited 
only the name of friendship, ripened into 
the deep and unhidden passion of love.— 
For some time the matter remained locked 
in the secret recesses of their hearts ; but 
like the river checked in its course, it was 
but gaining strength to rush on with renew- 
ed and unrestrained power, bearing along 
with it every obstacle which came in its 
way. The lovely Agnes was now sixteen 
years of age, and although the dart of Cupid 
had pierced the heart, yet she feared to re- 
veal the fact, and suffered it to wrankle 
and fester within, till she was unable long- 
er to withhold her feelings from view.— 
She determined, therefore, to throw the 
whole matter into the balance of parental 
council, and learn her fate, which she doubt- 
ed not would prove as she wished, a full and 
unconditional permission of marriage. The 
proposition was listened to with pleasure by 
the mother, who gave her ready approval 



140 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

of the same. But the husband and father 
was yet to be consulted ; for though with 
her mother upon her side, she felt sure of 
her victory, yet with both she would feel bet- 
ter pleased. The mother more experienced 
in artfulness than Agues, determined to act 
as solicitor, and gain if possible his hearty 
consent, the success of which another chap- 
ter shall unfold. 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 141 



CHAPTER IV. 

" Deal gently thou whose hand hath won, 
The young bird from its nest away, 
Where careless 'neath the vernal sun 
She gaily caroiTd day by day." 

" Zelotte," said his wife as she entered 
his studio, her face radiant with smiles, " I 
have something of importance to communi- 
cate to thee. Lay aside thy crayons and 
list to rne, while I rehearse the whole to 
thee." 

In compliance with this request he arose, 
and seating himself beside his " better half" 
in an attitude of ease, awaited the issue of 
the tale. 

" Agnes," commenced the mother, " has 
sustained a great and inestimable loss, 
money, reputation, friends, anything almost, 
might have been preferable to this." 

"And what is this of which you speak," 
asked Zelotte ? 

" Oh, nothing alarming " said she. "You 
know that we, once young and joyous crea- 



142 YOUNG man's gift. 

tures, mingled in the dance, and with thou- 
sands of others we can testify to the power 
of love as it flits from flower to flower, till 
settling down upon some choice spot it 
reigns supreme. It is, as we can testify, 
the comfort of our days, and it is our duty 
to extend this blessing to all within our 
reach." 

" Then Agnes has lost her heart ?" 

" Nothing less than this, and that too 
without the power of ever regaining it. 
She has received impressions upon her heart 
which time nor eternity can ever efface, and 
which if refused a home, will leave the mind 
a wreck forever " 

" And who is the happy possessor of Ag- 
nes' love ?" 

" Peree Moulton ; a young and gallant 
fellow, possessed of some thousands of mon- 
ey, and a residence some few miles from 
hence, of which a prince might w T ell be 
proud," replied she. Upon the mention of* 
Moulton' s name, a cloud seemed to gather 
upon the brow of Zelotte, and raising him- 
self erect he said, — 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 143 

" This is a solemn question to decide ; 
and knowing as I do the character of him 
of whom you speak, and to w T hom the future 
destiny of our daughter is to be entrusted, 
I fear that my consent must be withheld, at 
least for the present, and I hope that with 
your help and co-operation, I may be enabled 
to persuade Agnes to lay aside all feelings 
of this nature until she shall have attained 
to years of discretion." 

" You need expect no such aid from me, 
as that of which you speak," replied his 
wife, somewhat piqued that he did not read- 
ily fall in with her, in giving his consent. 

" My best wishes have long since been ex- 
tended to her, for their happiness, and every 
prospect seems to promise a happy union. 
I see no reason w r hy so scrupulous an inves- 
tigation of this matter need be taken." 

" This subject is one of vital importance 
to Agnes," said the father, " and it is for her 
good that I withhold my consent to her 
marriage. She is young and beautiful, and 
consequently from her inexperience, may 



144 young man's gift. 

be led to believe that it is herself which her 
admirer loves, when in fact it is only the 
beauties of her person which have attracted 
his attention, and which from bitter experi- 
ence I can say will never stand the test of 
earthly trials. As a man and a father, I 
shall endeavor to instruct Agnes in this 
matter, which I have too long left unmed- 
dled w T ith, from the fact that I had not 
dreamed of her being thrown in the way of 
temptations of this nature. Never shall she 
be made the unconscious dupe of winning 
smiles, so long as she can take the endear- 
ing name of father upon her lips. As you 
love Agnes, I entreat you to aid me in 
bringing about this end. Think of her after 
the spell of youthful beauty has flown, neg- 
lected by him whom she had chosen to be 
her bosom friend, but who was devoid of a 
single sympathetic feeling for her. No 
unity of purpose, thought, or feeling can 
be theirs, and like the ship continually 
lashed by the angry waves, so must they 
pass through this life, unhappy. Think of 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 145 

this, and decide upon the wisdom of my 
course." 

" Keally Mr. Banvard, you have quite a 
tact for the clergical profession, and I 
should recommend that the easle and can- 
vass be dispensed with for the more appro- 
priate articles, the pulpit and prayer-booh. 
But once for all I say, that Agnes shall 
have my support in this matter, though it 
meet with your serene highness' utmost de- 
rision and contempt!" 

With a haughty toss of the head she left 
his studio, leaving Zelotte to ponder over 
the scene just enacted, and contrast his 
present state of enjoyment with the broad 
and unlimited sea of happiness upon which 
he once sailed. 

It would be a scene devoid of interest to 
the reader to be led through all the various 
and oft repeated crosses which the husband 
and wife experienced, and w r e shall there- 
fore pass them by in silence. 

The father's consent being withheld from 
Agnes, she formed the resolution of eloping 



146 young man's gift. 

with her lover, and thus possess herself of 
that enjoyment of which her father's will 
deprived her at home. His kind words and 
loving counsel were all disregarded, and 
through the influence of her mother, they 
were more than lost upon her. Alas how 
vain and worse than worthless did beau- 
ty appear to Zelotte, as he saw what tre- 
mendous deficiencies in mind it hid. How 
did he repine over the fate which had made 
him to connect himself with one in nowise his 
equal, and one even, who would in no re- 
spect yield to his wishes if so be that they 
clashed with her own. How often did he 
think of his friend Romeo, and shame would 
cause him to banish from his mind all re- 
membrance of the fact, that such a being 
had ever existed. Yet it was but a momen- 
tary relief, for again would it come back 
clothed with all the freshness of a new life, 
to censure him for his folly. 

Scarce had twelve short months rolled 
over the head of Agnes, now heart and 
hand the wife of Peree Moulton, ere the 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 147 

ardor of his love began to cool. A few 
months more and he became indifferent, and 
in less than two years after her marriage, 
he neglected her entirely for the more pala- 
table pleasures of the opera, the gaming 
house, and not unfrequently the brothel ! 
Whenever his appearance was made, it was 
to heap insult and abuse upon his loving 
wife, whose treatment towards him, was 
ever kind and obliging. Thus matters 
remained, when at the close of the fourth 
year of her wedded life, she received a let- 
ter from that father whom she had spurned, 
and whose counsel she had set at naught, 
requesting her to return to her youthful 
home and be happy once again. But no : 
too great a change had been wrought within 
her to ever again be happy, and, to meet 
the friend from whose arms she had flown 
as from the coil of a serpent, she could never 
do. Her spirit had been crushed and her 
constitution ruined by the violent bursts of 
grief which she had sustained, and now she 
was fast sinking into that world " where the 



148 young man's gift. 

wicked cease from troubling and the weary 
are at rest." Upon a fine day in May, as 

the sun smiled upon the earth, and the birds 
sent up their joyous songs to heaven, death 
came to her relief, and she entered the 
courts of the New Jerusalem. 

Sad indeed were the hearts of the parents 
as they followed the remains of their daugh- 
ter to the grave, and this feeling was not 
lessened by the thought, that if a proper 
parental government had been kept up by 
them, the union of Agnes with an unfeeling 
husband might have been thwarted, and the 
present scene of mourning have been one of 
feasting. But this was but the commence- 
ment of retributive justice. Scarce had the 
death knell of their daughter ceased ringing 
in their ears, ere the mournful intelligence 
of their son's imprisonment reached them. 
He was charged with committing that crime 
most enormous of all upon the records of 
wickedness, — that of murder. Months did 
he lay in the damp and cheerless dungeon, 
and though aquitted of the crime of murder , 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 149 

he was doomed to spend the remainder of 
his life in the dark and cheerless prison.* 

After sentence had been passed and he 
remanded back to prison, his thoughts were 
those which imagination can faintly picture, 
and language never describe. Hope of an 
acquital had until now so occupied his mind, 
that a realization of his situation had never 
come in to him. But now so poignant was 
his grief, that life seemed almost ready to 
yield. Amid all his horror of conscience, 
he penned the following epistle to his pa- 
rents, the perusal of which, must give the 
reader, as it did them, a thorough knowl- 
edge of the first great cause which placed 
him in his now unenviable situation. 

"Dec. 29,18—. 
"Dear Father and Mother, — 

" It is with mingled feelings of 
pleasure and regret, that I attempt to ad- 
dress a few lines to you. Pleasure that my 
life, health, and reason are spared, and pain 



* The criminal to whom this refers, is now in the Charlestown 
tate Prison. 



150 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

that I am obliged to pen this epistle within 
the walls of a prison. Oh that they to 
wham the training of youth is submitted, 
could but read in my fate the fate of all 
those who are alike suffered to go on in 
their own wilful course. Would to heaven 
that ere I had seen this day, I had laid 
deep in the cold and silent grave. But 
alas ! to repine over days and hours mis- 
spent can never recall them. Had you 
drawn the rein of parental government more 
tightly, then had you been saved the morti- 
fication which you now must suffer, and I 
escape the punishment which I must now 
bear. * 

Let me urge upon you, that you will do 
all in your power to instil into the minds of 
parents and guardians, the necessity of 
curbing the inclinations of youth. The 
storms of passion must be checked by other 
means than bribes, or they will fill in after life 
a situation ignoble and disgraceful, of which 
I am a melancholy example. Weep not 
for me remote from the gaze of the world, 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY". 151 

but rather let me mourn over the disgrace 
which I have brought down upon your 
heads, and which you must bear whereever 
you go. That this affliction may prove the 
means of caution to others, and of better 
preparing us for that world where all is 
love and joy, is the sincere wish of a repent- 
ant and loving son. Adieu, 

" CHA'S P. MXGNAULT." 

It is anything but pleasing to the wri- 
ter to portray the infelicities of married 
life, and while doing thus he is well aware 
of the tremendous weight of opinion which 
is against him. But truth let it grapple with 
whatsoever thing it may which is pleasing 
to us, should stand forth to the gaze of the 
world, for by this are we to judge our future 
course of action. 

After the death of his wife, which fol- 
lowed a short time after the fate of Charles 
was made known to her, Zelotte, to pass 
away the weary hours of his existence, 
resolved to resort to travel, and accordingly 



152 young man's gift. 

taking sufficient means from out of bis 
abundance, he left the scenes of his home, 
resolving never again to return until age 
should make it impracticable for him longer 
to dwell among strangers. The grief and 
mortification which had hurried his partner 
to the grave, had wrought a mighty change 
upon himself, but with change and gaieties, 
he hoped again to regain his wonted cheer- 
fulness and be happy. 

The day was one of loveliness and beauty, 
that a traveller alighted at the inn in a quiet 
village in the warm and sunny clime of 
Georgia, and giving the rein to the groom 
he entered upon the accommodation of 
" mine host." As he entered, he cast a 
scrutinizing glance at the landlord, and reg- 
istering his name in a hurried manner, he 
retired to the apartment which was shown 
him, and turning the key, he threw himself 
upon a couch at the extremety of the room. 
Sleep came not to his eyes nor slumber to 
his eyelids, and in agitation he arose and 
paced his room. Pausing before a mirror 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 153 

which was one of those of rich German 
manufacture, reflecting his person back in 
all truthfulness and precision, he exclaimed, 
" What a contrast ! This countenance wrin- 
kled and wan from grief and misfortune, 
rebukes its possessor for having brought 
this evil upon it, while that of my friend is as 
fresh and joyous as ever. Oh, that I had 
heeded his counsel and advice ere I plunged 
into the very vortex of folly and despair. 
Happy in the enjoyment of himself, and 
striving to make others like him by impart- 
ing joy and happiness to those around him, 
he still clings to this world from which I 
long to be freed." A low rap at his door 
aroused him from his musings, and assum- 
ing an air of cheerfulness which was foreign 
to his mind, he answered the summons, — 
when before him stood " mine host," the 
veritable Romeo of his youthful days. 

After the first salutations were over, 
Romeo, addressing his friend in a kind and 
familiar manner, said, — 

" You will pardon my intrusion, friend 
10 



154 young man's gift. 

Zelotte, but learning from your address that 
an old and much esteemed friend was the 
inmate of my house, and one too, whom the 
waves of oblivion had well nigh buried be- 
neath their swollen surges, — I could restrain 
my inclination to grasp your hand within 
my own no longer."' 

A promise to inform each other of their 
fortunes during the life which was now cast- 
ing the shadows of night around them, was 
given, and on the succeding evening each 
was made acquainted with the leading points 
of the life of his friend. After leading the 
astonished Romeo through all the various 
scenes of his chequered life, Zelotte in 
closing said, — 

" And now, friend of my youth, whose 
counsel I spurned, and whose upright and 
manly principles I laughed to scorn, accept 
my hearty repentance of the same, pardoning 
any seeming lack of courtsey in my manner, 
attributing the same to the baneful effects 
of an unhappy marriage, to which I have 
fallen a victim." 



WIVES OF INTELLECT AND FANCY. 155 

CONCLUSION. 

Reader, our task is done. He who eu- 
logised the charms of his patron while he 
transferred them to the canvass, detested 
and abhored the same w r hen she became his 
wife. Alas, how many like the careless 
Zelotte, are governed by fancy rather than 
intellect in the choice of a companion, and 
how many like him are compelled to spend 
a life of misery and unhappiness as a reward. 
Thanking you for your patient perusal of 
this tale, and hoping that you may safely 
enter the peaceful haven of matrimony, and 
enjoy in peace and tranquillity the blessings 
of connubial bliss, we bid adieu to the reader, 
who has so kindly borne company with the 
writer of " The Belle of Cottage Vale." 



156 young man's gift. 



PUNCTUALITY. 

Ah ! that's the word — punctuality ! did 
you ever see a man who was punctual, who 
did not prosper in a long run ? We don't 
care who or what he was — high or low, 
black or white, ignorant or learned, savage 
or civilized— we know if he did as he agreed 
and was punctual in all his engagements, he 
prospered, and was more respected than his 
shiftless, lying neighbors. 

Men who commence business should be 
careful how they neglect their obligations, 
and break their word. A person who is 
prompt, can always be accommodated, and is 
therefore " lord over another man's purse " 
as Franklin would say. Never make prom- 
ises upon uncertainties. Although the best 
of men may sometimes fail to do as they 
would, the case is exceedingly rare. He 
w T ho is prompt to fulfil his word, will never 
make a promise where it is not next to a 
moral certainty that he can do as he agrees. 



PUNCTUALITY. 157 



If you would succeed, be punctual to the 
hour. Return borrowed money the moment 
you promised it. In all things if you are 
thus prompt, we will risk you through life ; 
you will succeed-you cannot help it. Those 
who are prompt in their business affairs, are 
generally so in every department of life. 
You never know them to be late to church, 
to the polls, or to bed. A promptness in 
every thing characterises them. May you 
be thus prompt. The first symptoms of 
reform, if you have been remiss in duty, 
will be to send to the printer forthwith, and 
pay your subscription. We have been more 
or less connected with papers for twenty 
years, and the result of our experience is ; 
the man who pays punctually for his paper 
is prompt in every transaction of life — 
makes a good citizen — exerts a good influ- 
ence — prospers, and is in a fair way to 
reach heaven. 



158 young man's gift. 



A CHEERFUL WIFE. 
A good writer has remarked that a 
woman may be of great assistance to her 
husband, by wearing a cheerful smile con- 
tinually upon her countenance. A man's 
perplexities and gloominess are increased 
ten ibid, when his better half moves about 
with a continued scowl upon her brow. A 
pleasant, cheerful wife is as a rainbow set 
in the sky, when her husband's mind is 
tossed with storms and tempests ; but a 
dissatisfied and fretful wife, in the hour of 
trouble, is like one of those fiends who are 
appointed to torment him. 



CO-OPERATION OF THE WIFE. 

There is much good sense and truth in 
the remark of a modern author, that no 
man ever prospered in the world without 
the co-operation of his wife. If she unites 
in mutual endeavors, or rewards his labor 



CO-OPERATION OP THE WIFE. 159 

with an endearing smile, with what confi- 
dence will he resort to his merchandise or 
his farm ; fly over lands ; sail upon the seas ; 
meet difficulty and encounter danger ; if he 
knows he is not spending his strength in 
vain, but that his labor will be rewarded by 
the sweets of home ! Solitude and disap- 
pointment enter the history of every man's 
life ; and he is but half provided for his 
voyage, who finds but an associate for happy 
hours, while for his months of darkness 
and distress, no sympathising partner is 
prepared. 



A BROTHER'S LOVE. 
There is something transcendently virtu- 
ous in the affections of a warm hearted 
brother towards his gentle and amiable 
sister. He can feel unbounded admiration 
for her beauty ; he can appreciate and 
applaud the kindness which she bestows 
upon himself. He can watch the blush 
steal over her features, when he tells her 



1G0 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

of her innocent follies, and he can clasp 
her to his bosom in consolation when the 
team gush from her overloaded heart. 

With woman there is a feeling of pride 
mingled with the regard which she has for 
a brother. She looks upon him as ONE 
fitted to brave the tempest of the world ; 
as one to whose arm of protection she can 
fly for shelter, when she is stricken by 
sorrow, wronged or oppressed ; as one 
whose honor is connected with her own, 
and who will not see her insulted with 
impunity. He is to her as the oak is to 
the vine ; and though she may fear all 
others of mankind, she is secure and confi- 
dent in the love and protection of her 
brother. 

Nothing affords such satisfaction, and 
nothing entwines a sister so effectually 
among his sympathies and interests, as 
profound reliance on her virtue, and an 
abiding conviction of her diffidence and 
delicacy. As these two latter are far the 
most delightful qualities of a female, so 



a brother's love. 161 

they are the strongest spells for enticing 
away the affections of the other sex. A 
female without delicacy, is a woman with- 
out principle ; and as an innate and 
shrinking perception of virtue is a true 
characteristic of a pure hearted creature, 
so it is the most infallible union between 
hearts that truly beat in response to each 
other. There is more tenderness in the 
disposition of woman than of man ; but the 
affection of a brother is full of the purest 
and most generous impulse ; it cannot be 
Quenched by aught on earth, and will out- 
live all selfish and sordid attachments. A 
deep rooted regard for a gentle creature, 
born of the same parents with ourselves, is 
certainly one of the noblest feelings of our 
nature ; and were every other feeling of 
human nature dead save this, there would 
still a bright hope remain that the fountains 
of virtue and principle w T ere not yet sealed. 



162 young man's gift. 



FOR HUSBANDS. 

A man's house should be his earthly 
paradise. It should be, of all other spots, 
that which he leaves with most regret, and 
to which he returns with most delight. And 
in order that it may be so, it should be his 
daily task to provide everything convenient 
and comfortable for his wife. With every 
provision he can possibly make, her's will 
l)e a life of care and toil. She is the 
sentinel who can seldom, if ever, be re- 
lieved. Others may sleep, but if there be 
any one who must watch, it is she. She 
ought therefore, to be furnished with every 
comfort within the means of her husband. 
Generally, every shilling expended by the 
husband for the accommodation of his wife 
in her domestic operations, is returned upon 
him four-fold — if not precisely in pecuniary 
advantage, though this is often true, it will 
be found in the order, peace and happiness 
of his family. 



ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. 163 



ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. 

Take care of your minds. Cultivate, 
enlarge, improve these wonderful, myste- 
rious powers which God has given you. 
Let them not lie dormant. Let them not 
remain unfurnished. Call them forth — 
apply them ; educate, develop them. For 
this end seek knowledge. " Take fast 
hold of instruction, let her not go." Strive 
to gather knowledge every way — from 
books, from men, from yourself, from the 
world. Study, reflect, examine, read, con- 
verse — all with a view to improve your 
minds. Youth is the season for such improve- 
ment. Do not let it pass unimproved. You 
are highly favored with means, with facili- 
ties for improvement. Books teem from the 
press every week, every day. They are 
in every house. Then you may find time 
to read and reflect. Such are the methods, 
the easy methods of obtaining support, that 
young men are not compelled to incessant 



164 young man's gift. 

labor, to acquire the means of living. They 
can, if they will, find time for intellectual 
improvement. They live where general 
intelligence is widely diffused ; where the 
arts and sciences are cultivated ; where the 
opportunities for a good education are with- 
in the reach of every one. Such an 
education every man may acquire ; and, 
with a divine blessing, he may rise and 
become distinguished, and hold a place 
among the most useful of his fellow-men. 
Such places of distinction and trust and 
usefulness are not all filled by the wealthy 
and the children of wealth. They are 
open to every one who will be strong, and 
show himself a man. They are indeed 
filled by men coming from every class and 
profession and occupation. Some of the 
most useful in our land, have risen by their 
own exertion. They have been self-made 
men. From a poor printer's boy, we can 
speak of a Franklin ; and from the appren- 
ticed shoemaker, of a Roger Sherman. 
Others like those great men are now living, 



ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. 165 

and doing good, extending good in every 
department of life, who have come up to 
such stations, with facilities of which every 
one who hears me may avail himself. 

Every one, then, should improve these 
facilities. Every young man should aim at 
the attainment of a good education. He 
needs this in order to be strong, and show 
himself a man. Without it he will have 
physical strength to no purpose. Without 
it he cannot be serviceable to himself nor 
to others. Everything within him and with- 
out him must suffer. If he be at the head 
of a family, his family must suffer. If we 
view him in the relation of a citizen, the 
community must suffer. Ignorance every- 
where tends to suffering ; poverty and crime 
are its results. This we learn from the 
unbroken testimony of men in public life, 
from all our judges and jurors ; it is read 
and felt in the history of our alms-houses, 
and prisons, and penitentiaries. Ignorant 
men are likely to be vicious, dissolute. 
They are more inclined to the low, debas- 



166 young man's gift. 

ing, vulgar amusements of life, to sensual 
indulgence, and, of course, to moral, spirit- 
ual, eternal ruin. Let all young men, then, 
strive to improve and develop their intel- 
lectual powers. This they owe to them- 
selves ; they owe it to their friends, to the 
nation, to the world ; above all, to Him who 
formed them with capacities for ever-grow- 
ing, ever increasing attainment. Allow me 
to add, their improvement depends much 
upon their choice of books. If they seek 
and obtain pernicious books, their minds 
never will, never can expand the most suc- 
cessfully. Such reading dissipates and 
weakens the mental pow r ers ; the intellect 
becomes enervated ; it cannot assume man- 
ly vigor. No youth can show himself a 
man who is pouring over works of mere 
fancy, of romance. Not to allude to 
the polluting effects of such reading on the 
morals of the young, and the utter ruin of 
character which it has so often brought, it 
is destructive of vigorous thought ; it never 
secures noble, dignified, powerful intellects ; 



ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. 167 

these are the results of a different reading, 
I would say, then, to all young men, make 
choice of good books ; select the best works ; 
standard works of history, voyages, travels, 
and biographies of distinguished men ; such 
works as will refine, elevate, and improve, 
the mind, and purify the heart. And, in 
all your reading, make that book your con- 
stant companion which has done more for 
man than all other books together ; without 
which, no man ever became truly great and 
truly good. 

I cannot express my views on this point 
so well as to quote the language of a beau- 
tiful writer. " Prize above every other 
book, the volume of inspiration. Indepen- 
dent of its unquestionable claim to the 
highest authority, it stands forth acknowl- 
edged by the strongest intellects, and 
revered by the holiest hearts, as the book 
of books. For all that is venerable in 
antiquity, beautiful in morals, and sublime 
in truth, it remains unrivalled. Its lessons 
are taught in the purest language, and its 



168 YOUNG man's gift. 

instructions suited to every circumstance of 
life. It is at once the foundation of history 
the standard of morals, a book of biography, 
a volume of poetry, and the basis of all true 
philosophy. In it are hid all the treasures 
of wisdom and knowledge. In comparison, 
Byron loses his fire, Milton his soarings, 
Gray his beauties, and Homer his grandeur 
and figures. No eye like the rapt Isaiah's 
ever pierced the future ; no tongue ever 
reasoned like sainted Job's ; no poet ever 
sung like Israel's shepherd king ; and God 
never made a wiser man than Solomon. 
The words of the Bible are pictures of 
immortality ; dews from the tree of knowl- 
edge ; pearls from the river of life, and gems 
of celestial thought. As the moaning shell 
whispers of the sea, so the Bible breaths of 
love in heaven, and joys too pure to die. 
It is our guide to virtue and happiness, 
and by its holy teachings we may be made 
wise unto salvation, through faith which is 
in Jesus Christ." 

Such a book, if read and studied, will aid 



ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. 169 

every young man who desires to obtain in- 
struction, and improve his intellect.. It will 
- aid also in securing a higher object, one to 
which I now invite you — it is that of the 
elevation and improvement of the moral 
powers. These are requisite to make the 
man ; mere intellectual attainment can never 
do it. This is only the means, not the end 
of our being. To accomplish that end, 
attention must be given to our moral nature. 
If this is neglected, the more we know, the 
more mischief we shall do. Let, then, 
every young man aim at moral elevation. 
This includes the love and practice of all 
the virtues of life. In naming some of 
them, I ought not to omit industry. This 
is an essential element. An idle man is 
almost always a vicious man. Idleness is 
the parent of every vice ; it is the devil's 
handmaid to secure his votaries ; it is con- 
demned in Scripture, and has upon it the 
brand of infamy. It is a source of misery ; 
its very ingredients are miserable. It is at 
war with the condition of man, as formed 
11 



170 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

by his Creator, and is hostile to all his 
relations to life. No man can be useful to 
himself or others, who is idle. Cultivate, 
then, industrious habits. They are essen- 
tial to your success ; they are essential to 
your comfort ; they are essential to your 
morality, and to your manliness. Without 
them you cannot be, you cannot show 
yourself a man. 

Another element of moral elevation is 
economy. By this is not meant the perver- 
sion of the principle, parsimony, avarice, 
not that undue love of the world so fully 
condemned in the Bible. But it is meant 
that we should be saving, frugal — not 
wasteful, not prodigal. lie who required 
the fragments to be gathered when he 
wrought a miracle in feeding the five thou- 
sand, requires us to practice the principles 
of economy, for our own good and for the 
good of others. The conduct of many on 
this point is widely different. They suppose 
they must be prodigal to some extent, in 
order to be respected. They mistake in 



ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. 171 

regard to what constitutes true respectabil- 
ity. With these mistaken views, they have 
allowed themselves in a course of living 
which has beggared their families and im- 
poverished others. Many a man in business 
has failed and gone into bankruptcy, by the 
simple process of expensive living. On the 
other hand, many young men have risen to 
opulence and respectability, and at length to 
great influence and usefulness, by the prac- 
tice of economy. This is necessary to 
constitute the man. This should be adop- 
ted by every one who wishes to show himself 
a man. This leads me to add, he should shun 
all evil, sinful, vicious, pernicious habits. 
Habits of almost every kind are easily 
acquired, and when acquired are difficult 
of removal. They become second nature ; 
they become a part of our being ; they are 
indeed elements in our very constitution. 
The inspired penman understood this when 
he declared (Jer. 13: 23), " Can the 
Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard 
his spots ? then may ye also do good that are 



172 young man's gift. 

accustomed to do evil." Habits of every 
kind are permanent. Those relating to the 
mind, to the mere intellect, when fixed in 
early life, are seldom erased. We read of 
a distinguished nobleman in England, born 
of Scotch parents, who formed the habit 
in his childhood of speaking the Scotch 
dialect. As he arrived to maturity, and 
minified in the scenes of the English Par- 
liament, he labored to improve and change 
his style of speaking. With the best 
teachers and a rigid course of discipline he 
succeeded for the time ; but after a few 
years, the Scotch brogue returned upon him 
and remained with him till death. We 
recollect the case of a devout, pious man, 
remarkable for his sobriety of speech and 
for his heavenly conversation. He was 
taken sick, and lost his reason. In this 
state of aberration he uttered the most 
profane, obscene language. On his recovery 
the fact was stated to him. He was sur- 
prised, and accounted for it only on the 
ground of early habits. In his state of 



HOW TO PROSPER IN BUSINESS. 173 

youthful impiety he was addicted to this 
pernicious habit. Many such cases exist, 
to teach young men to guard against all 
evil habits. 



HOW TO PROSPER IN BUSINESS. 

In the first place, make up your mind 
to accomplish whatever you undertake : de- 
cide upon some particular business, perse- 
vere in it. " All difficulties are overcome 
by diligence and assiduity." 

Be not afraid to work with your hands, 
and diligently too. " A cat in gloves 
catches no mice." 

Attend to your own business, and never 
trust it to another. "A pot that belongs 
to many, is ill stirred, and worse boiled." 

Be frugal. " That which will not make 
a pot will make a pot lid." " Save the 
pence and the pounds will take care of 
themselves." 

Be abstemious. " Who dainties love, 
shall beggars prove." 



174 young man's gift. 

Rise early. " The sleeping fox catches 
no poultry." " Plough deep while slug- 
gards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell 
and keep." 

Treat every one with respect and civility. 
" Every thing is gained and nothing lost by 
courtesy." " Good manners ensure success. 

Never anticipate wealth from any other 
source than labor. Especially, never place 
dependence upon becoming the possessor of 
an inheritance. He who waits for dead 
mens' shoes, may have to go a long time 
barefoot. " He who runs after a shadow 
has a wearisome race." 

Above all things, never despair. " God 
is where he was." " Heaven helps those 
who help themselves." 

Follow implicitly these precepts, and 
nothing can hinder you from accumulating. 



DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN. 

We have rarely seen a better definition of 
what is meant by the term gentleman than 



DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN. 175 

that given by the poet Bishop of the Episco- 
pal Church of New Jersey, in a prospectus 
of the ends and objects of Burlington College, 
Bishop Doane says : — 

" When you have found a man, you have 
not far to go to find a gentleman. You can- 
not make a gold ring out of brass. You can- 
not change a Cairn- Worm or a Cape May 
crystal to a diamond. You cannot make a 
gentleman till you have first a man. To be 
a gentleman, it will not be sufficient to have 
had a grandfather. 

" What can enable sots, or slaves, or cowards * 
Alas ! not all the blood of all the Howards." 

" To be a gentleman does not depend up- 
on the tailor or the toilet. The proof of a 
gentleman is not to do no work. Blood will 
degenerate. Good clothes are not good 
habits. The Prince Lee Boo concluded 
that the hog, in England, was the only gen- 
tleman as being the only thing that did not 
labor. A gentleman is just a gentle-man; 
no more, no less ; a diamond polished, that 



176 YOUNG man's gift. 

"was first a diamond in the rough. A gen- 
tleman is gentle. A gentleman is modest. 
A gentleman is courteous. A gentleman is 
generous. A gentleman is slow to take of- 
fence, as being one that never gives it. A 
gentleman is slow to surmise evil, as being 
one that never thinks it. A gentleman goes 
armed, only in consciousness of right. A 
gentleman refines his tastes. A gentleman 
subdues his feelings. A gentleman controls 
his speech. A gentleman deems every 
other better than himself. Sir Phillip Sid- 
ney was never so much a gentleman — mir- 
ror though he was, of England's knighthood 
— as when upon the field Zutphen, as he 
lay in his own blood, he waived the draft of 
cool spring water that was brought to quench 
his mortal thirst, in favor of a dying soldier. 
St. Paul described a gentleman when he 
exhorted the Phillipian christians — "What- 
soever things are true, whatsoever things 
are honest, whatsoever things are just, what- 
soever things are pure, whatsoever things 
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 



EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF SMOKING. 177 

report, if there be any virtue, and if there 
be any praise, think on these things." And 
Dr. Isaac Barrow, in his admirable sermon 
on the calling of a gentleman, pointedly 
says, " He should labor and study to be a 
learner unto virtue, and a notable promoter 
thereof; directing and exciting men there- 
to, by his exemplary conversation ; encoura- 
ging them by his countenance and author- 
ity ; rewarding the goodness of meaner peo- 
ple, by his bounty and favor ; he should be 
such a gentleman as Noah, who preached 
righteousness, by his words and by his 
works, before a profane world. 



EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF SMOKING. 

The wide-spread habit of smoking has not 
yet had due medical attention paid to it, and 
its consequences. It is only by two or three 
years' observation that Dr. Laycock had be- 
come fully aware of the great changes induc- 
ed in the system by the abuse of tobacco, 



178 young man's gift. 

and of the varied and obscure forms of dis. 
ease to which especially excessive smoking 
gave origin. He proceeded to state some 
of them, as they were met with in the pha- 
ryngeal mucous membrane, the stomach, 
the lungs, the heart, the brain, the nervous 
system The tobacco consumed by habitual 
smokers varied from half an ounce to twelve 
ounces per week, the usual quantity from 
two to three ounces. Inveterate cigar smo- 
kers will consume from four to five dozen 
per week. — The first morbid result is an in- 
flammatory condition of the mucous mem- 
brane of the lips and tongue, then the ton- 
sils and pharynx Buffer, the mucous mem- 
brane becoming dry and congested. If the 
thorax be examined well it will be found 
slightly swollen, with congested veins mean- 
dering over the surface, and here and there 
a streak of mucous. The action of tobacco 
smoking on the heart is depressing, and 
some individuals, who feel it in this organ 
more than others, complain of an uneasy 
sensation about the left nipple, a distressed 



EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF SMOKING. 179 

feeling, not amounting to faintness, but al- 
lied to it. The action of the heart is obser- 
ved to be feeble and irregular. An uneasy 
feeling is also experienced in or beneath the 
pectoral muscles, and oftener on the right 
side than the left. On the brain, the use of 
tobacco appears to diminish the rapidity of 
cerebral action, and check the flow of ideas 
through the mind. It differs from opium 
and henbane, and rather excites to wakeful- 
ness, like green tea, than composes to sleep ; 
imduces a dreaminess which leaves no im- 
pression on the memory, leaving a great 
susceptibility, indicated by a trembling of 
the hands, and irritability of temper. Such 
are secondary results of smoking. So are 
blackness of the teeth and gum-boils. There 
is also a sallow paleness of the complexion, 
an irresoluteness of disposition, a want of 
life and energy, and, in constant smokers 
who do not drink, a tendency to pulmonary 
phthisis. Dr. Wright of Birmingham, in a 
communication to the author, fully corrobo- 
rates his opinions ; and both agree that smok- 



180 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

ing produces gastric disorders, coughs and 
inflammatory affections of the larynx, and 
pharynx, diseases of the heart and lowness 
of spirits, and, in short, is very injurious to 
the respiratory, circulating,, alimentary and 
nervous systems. 



YOUTH AND MARRIAGE. 

On this subject Dr. Palfrey has the fol- 
lowing just remarks; — " Youth is easily 
attracted and soon decided. It forgets 
that the fanciful preference of a moment 
may not safely determine the prospects of 
a life. It is unmindful that looking to this 
world mere!}", occasions will come, for 
which the graces of the ball-room are no 
sort of preparation. It rashly takes the 
eyes that can sparkle in their morning bril- 
liancy, for those that will weep meekly in 
sorrow, and kindle with a steady encourage- 
ment in the midst of care, and hold a light 
which can cheer, when all other light on 



THE YOUNG MAN'S CURSE 181 

the earth has waxed dim. It is so wild as 
to mistake the flatterer of the hour, for 
the same being who will be the ministering 
angel of sickness and decline. It needs to 
be reminded, if there is any engagement in 
life that is not to be formed under the arbi- 
tration of caprice, it is that which is not 
dissolved till the parting shall come at the 
leaden bier and in the open grave. It must 
be conjured to remember, if there is any 
step in life which requires beyond others to 
be made reverently, discreetly, advisedly, 
soberly, prayerfully, and in the fear of 
God, it is that step which day by day is the 
most inconsiderately taken." 



THE YOUNG MAN'S CUESE. 

I saw him first at the social party. He 
took but one glass of wine, and that at the 
request of a fair young lady with whom he 
conversed. I saw him next when he sup- 
posed he was unseen, take a glass to satisfy 



182 young man's gift. 

the slight desire formed by his sordid indul- 
gence. He thought there was no danger. 
I saw him again with those of his own age, 
meeting at night to spend a short time in 
convivial pleasure. They considered it only 
an innocent amusement. I met him next, 
late in the evening, in the street, unable to 
reach home ; I assisted him thither ; he 
looked ashamed when we next met. I en- 
treated him to forsake his evil companions, 
and the intoxicating cup ; he seemed affect- 
ed, and promised amendment. It was like 
the feeble struggle of the drowning man. 
I next saw him reeling in the street; a 
confused stare was on his countenance, and 
words of blasphemy were on his tongue. 
Shame was gone. 



NECESSITY OF SELF- ACQUAINTANCE. 

It is natural that we should wish to be- 
come early and familiarly acquainted with 
those who have most to do with our happi- 



NECESSITY OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE. 183 

ness, and with whom it is most necessary 
for us to associate. And this desire is no 
more natural than the acquaintance is im- 
portant. So far, also, as it may be our 
duty to benefit and improve such persons, 
this acquaintance becomes of moment to 
them as well as to us. 

No one will doubt this. But it is too 
seldom perceived that, for the same reason, 
an acquaintance with ourselves is not only 
desirable in the highest degree, but of the 
first and most pressing importance. Who, 
except our Maker can have so much to do 
with our happiness as ourselves ? — and 
with whom are we so absolutely obliged to 
associate ? What can be more indispensi- 
ble than our own improvement ? — and how 
can we improve ourselves except in propor- 
tion as we know what we are ? We can 
neither get rid of ourselves, nor escape the 
responsibility that rests upon us to make 
the best use of all our powers. 

No one doubts that we should understand 
an instrument, which it is needful to use 



184 young man's gift. 

in mechanical or other practical concerns : — 
and, of course, the more important the pur- 
pose for which it is used, the greater the 
necessity for being well acquainted with it. 
Especially, if it should be necessary (as for 
instance, in the case of HersehePs tele- 
scope) to enlarge and improve the instru- 
ment — besides knowing the precautions 
required to prevent its getting out of order, 
how to repair it, when from any cause it 
should be impaired, and how to adapt it to 
the thousand varying circumstances that 
might accompany its use — nothing is more 
plain, than that we should understand tho- 
roughly the principles of its construction. 

Now, w T hen it is borne in mind that we 
must ourselves be the grand Instruments 
for accomplishing the purposes of our crea- 
tion ; that we have a constitution, not only 
complicated and ingenious in its structure to 
the highest degree of which we have any 
conception, but " fearfully and wonder- 
fully made ; " that, formed as we are in the 
image of our Maker himself, it is almost sa- 



NECESSITY OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE. 185 

crilege to compare ourselves with any mere 
human instrument , that to fulfil our des- 
tiny, improved discipline will be required at 
every step of our progress ; that, in conse- 
quence of sin, (the saddest of all calamities) 
disorder already reigns in our constitution, 
and unless arrested by a wise use of the 
means of reparation mercifully provided by 
our Maker, it will bring upon us more dis- 
astrous consequences than could befal us 
by the derangement of the whole physical 
universe ; and that the circumstances to 
which we shall be called to adapt ourselves 
during an eternal career, may be no less 
infinite in variety than our existence will be 
in duration ; the duty of self-acquaintance 
urges itself upon us with irresistible force. 
How dare we undertake the office of self- 
management and self-direction, without it ? 
How can we be our own masters, if we do 
not understand the being we are to govern ? 
Self-ignorance and enlightened self-govern- 
ment are as incompatible with each other as 
light and darkness. We must know the 
12 



186 YOUNG man's gift. 

powers we call into exercise, before we can 
use ourselves with wisdom and efficiency. 
In no other way can we attain skill to ope- 
rate to the best advantage, with the least 
amount of labor, as well as with the least 
wear and tear and waste of material. 

Nor does the possession of superior natu- 
ral abilities lessen the neccessity of this 
knowledge. On the other hand it makes it 
the more imperative. The more perfect our 
bodily constitution, the more we may dare 
to trifle with it, if we do not understand its 
laws ; because sentence against physical 
violation may not be executed speedily. 
And the mere fact that our minds are of 
superior cast — -admitting that to be the case 
is not enough. Keen-edged tools may not 
be handled by every one with impunity : 
they are great enemies to strangers. The 
steam engine needs to be the better under- 
stood in proportion to its power. So, the 
sharper our wits, the more danger of crip- 
pling our energies, if they are not sufficient 
ly understood to be called into proper 



NECESSITY OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE. 187 

exercise. And the more powerful our 
faculties combined, the more disastrous will 
be the consequence of self-ignorance : we 
shall be so much the more likely to prove a 
curse to ourselves and to the world. Es- 
pecially if the mind be of a fine, delicate 
structure, a want of knowledge respecting 
it may be — as with a nice piece of mechan- 
ism — the remote cause of its entire derange- 
ment. 

" No good of worth sublime will heaven permit 
To light on man as from the passing air ; 
The lamp of genius, though by nature lit, 
If not protected, pruned, and fed with care, 
Soon dies, or runs to waste with fitful glare." 

The first object upon which genius and 
talent should be brought to bear, is the 
investigation of the wonderful being in con- 
nection with which they have their birth, 
and on the management of which their 
ultimate glory or shame must depend. 

And how noble does this application of 
our abilities appear, when we consider the 
splendid purpose for which we were made ; 
a purpose of such transcendant magnitude, 



188 young man's gift. 



that it can be justly comprehended, only 
as we progress in its accomplishment. It 
is like a mountain which we might ascend 
forever, while new and more sublime eleva- 
tions revealed themselves at every advance, 
but whose summit could never be reached. 
What object for which any mere material 
instrument was ever employed, can with 
the least propriety be compared to such a 
purpose ? and consequently, what instru- 
* ment— -what in the universe— is so indispen- 
sible for us to understand, as our capacities 
for achieving it ? Although it can only be- 
dimly seen in the present life, still enough 
can be known to afford the strongest motives 
for pressing towards it with all our energies. 
All who understand and believe the Chris- 
tian Revelation, must be able to perceive as 
much as this, namely : that we were created 
to be citizens, not only of this transient 
world, but of the eternal kingdom of God, 
possessing all the interest in the sublime 
affairs of that kingdom which citizenship 
implies ; to expand and improve ourselves. 



NECESSITY OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE. 189 

under increasing advantages, without any 
know limitation, being invested with respon- 
sibilities corresponding with the different 
stages of our growth ; and by living in 
harmony with the laws of our Maker, to 
enjoy him and all the glories of his domin- 
ions forever. Is all this comprehended in 
the purpose of our creation ? — nay, is this 
only the faintest outline of a purpose so 
vast and so sublime, that its glories can be 
fully conceived only by the infinite growth 
of our capacity of conception ? If this is 
not denied, how can we expect ever to work 
out this purpose, without understanding the 
being — the noble Instrument — with which 
it is to be done. 

It was necessary that we should have a 
glimpse of our natural destiny, in order to 
be fully aware of that grand fact of self- 
knowledge, our susceptibility of infinite im- 
provement. And we no sooner become ac- 
quainted with this susceptibility, than we 
find the key with which we may unlock the 
universe. We find our faculties to be the 



190 YOUNG MAN'S GIFT. 

index to all that it is possible for us to at- 
tain to. Our proper destiny must harmo- 
nize with our nature ; and consequently the 
study of our nature is the first step to a 
clear and expansive comprehension of that 
destiny. So that self-knowledge is neces- 
sary, not only to self-use in general, but to 
enable us to see distinctly the grand object 
for which we are to be used — and thus 
make it possible, by employing the means 
which Providence has provided, to effect 
that object. 

Then, again > the innumerable duties we 
must perform in the accomplishment of our 
destiny; we cannot justly comprehend them 
except as they are directly revealed — and 
even then we cannot see their reasonable- 
ness — only so far as we know ourselves. 
Our responsibilities must be based upon our 
nature ; and of course we must know the 
capabilities of that nature, before we can 
fully understand our obligations. Therefore 
self-knowledge and self-use must go toge- 
ther, if we would enter upon the sublime 



HOW TO MAKE A MAN. 191 

inheritance which is our birthright; and 
consequently the motive for self-acquaint- 
ance is powerful beyond conception. With- 
out it — all other things being equal — 
every thing in the universe will prove a 
curse to us, instead of a blessing. 



HOW TO MAKE A MAN. 

I would have no youth feel that he is de- 
barred the opportunities of a useful and 
honorable, if he please, a lofty and heroic 
career because the means of obtaining a 
classical education are denied him. I will 
not point him to the many who have inscrib- 
ed their names high on the rolls of enviable 
fame without such education, for the logic 
therein implied might as well be used to 
reconcile him to the loss of an eye or an 
arm. I will not argue to him that circum- 
stances are indifferent or unimportant: I 
have freely admitted the contrary. But I 
would urge to such a one, that the essential 



192 young man's gift. 

circumstance is the awakening of the soul 
to a consciousness of its own powers and 
responsibilities ; and that this is determined 
in the very fact of his seeking, with eye 
single and heart pure, a larger development, 
a more thorough culture. This point at- 
tained, let him doubt nothing, fear nothing, 
save his own steadiness of purpose and loft- 
iness of aim. Be not discourged, then, 
awakened youth, in some lowly cottage, 
some boorish valley, by the magnitude of 
others' attainments, the richness of others' 
facilities for acquiring and investigating, as 
contrasted with the seeming poverty of your 
own; but remember, and be reverently 
thankful, that the same high stars which, 
shining so brightly upon the palace, the 
university, the senate-house, have kindled 
the souls of philosophers, sages, statesmen, 
in times past, now look down as kindly, in- 
spiringly on you ; and the fact that they 
have touched an answering chord within 
you, is an earnest that their companionship 
shall never more be sullen or fruitless. 



